45 national roads closed due to Paeng's onslaught —DPWH

At least 45 national roads across the country were closed to traffic following the onslaught of Tropical Storm Paeng (international name: Nalgae), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Sunday.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan said Paeng caused widespread damage on various roads because it traversed from Mindanao to Luzon.

“As of last night, nakapag-inventory po kami. Siguro, there are 45 national roads closed all over the country. At saka, there are also several partially passable lang,” he said.

(As of last night, we did an inventory. Maybe there are 45 national roads closed all over the country. And then there are also several that are only partially passable.)

He added that clearing operations are currently ongoing, particularly on major roads so that goods and services as well as relief operations could pass.

“Having said that, puspusan na po kami ngayon. Nagsimula na kami kaninang madaling araw pa… para mag-clear na po kami. Ang utos ko, i-clear muna ang lahat ‘yung primary roads para po [ma-control] natin ang daloy ng traffic para po mga goods and services, pati ‘yung mga relief operations ay makapasok sa mga nasalanta,” Bonoan said.

(Having said that, we are in full operation now. We started early this morning... so we can clear roads. My order is to clear all the primary roads first so that we can [control] the flow of traffic so that goods and services, as well as relief operations can reach the victims of the storm.)

So far, the DPWH said that the only challenge in their operations was repairing broken bridges and roads going to Antique from Iloilo.

“May mga tulay na nasira, 'yung mga approaches. May mga tulay din na-washout na tulay,” Bonoan said.

“Sa Region 6, ‘yung papuntang Antique dito ‘yung challenge natin kasi halos lahat ng mga kalsadang papuntang Antique from Iloilo ay maraming nasira. May mga nasirang tulay at road cuts,” he added.

(In Region 6, the one going to Antique poses a challenge because almost all the roads going to Antique from Iloilo were heavily damaged. There were damaged bridges and road cuts.)

According to the latest situational report of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), 147 roads and 53 bridges that were not passable because of Paeng.

Bantilan Bridge

Meanwhile, Bonoan mentioned that the Bantilan Bridge in Quezon Province was totally washed out due to debris from big tree logs.

The bridge, which is 30 meters long, is located between Barangay Tipas in San Juan, Batangas, and Barangay Bantilan in Sariaya, Quezon.

“Totally washed out ang lumang tulay. Nadala ito ng mga debris gaya ng troso na dumaan. Kukumpunihin namin agad ‘yan. Mayroon pa namang alternate road na maaaring gamitin,” he said.

(The old bridge was totally washed out. It was carried away by debris such as tree logs that passed by the bridge. We will fix that right away. There is still an alternate road that can be used.)

Also, Bonoan said that Daang Maharlika, a national road from Davao to Cagayan, have sections that were impassable due to fallen trees and soil erosions.

“Karamihan ng nakikitang sira sa Daang Maharlika ay mga natumbang puno at soil erosions sa mountainous sections. Wala namang na-cut na section, wala namang tulay na nasira doon... Baka malinis namin ito ngayong araw,” he furthered.

(Most of the visible damage on Daang Maharlika were fallen trees and soil erosion in the mountainous sections. No section was cut, no bridge was broken there... Maybe we can finish the cleanup today.)

Moreover, Bonoan said that roads in Aklan had only experienced flooding and that no major damage happened.

“Wala namang nasirang kalsada doon. Kung may mga debris, agad naming lilinisin ang main road,” he said.

(There were no damaged roads there. If there were debris, we would clear the main road immediately.)

Declaring national state of calamity

Asked about the recommendation of the NDRRMC to declare a national state of calamity, Bonoan said “With or without the declaration of state of calamity, kikilos ang DPWH at tutulong kami lalo sa mga kailangan naming kumpunihin.”

(With or without the declaration of state of calamity, the DPWH will act, and we will help out especially regarding those that need immediate repair.)

“Depende po sa probinsya. Sa akin lang po I will not really have comment on whether it is going to be a national declaration of state of calamity. But sabi ko nga po, I think most likely ang pangangailangan ng local government units (LGUs) ang kailangan dito,” he continued.

(It depends on the province. I will not really have a comment on whether it is going to be a national declaration of state of calamity. But as I said, I think most likely the needs of the LGUs should be addressed.)

On Saturday, the NDRRMC recommended that the country be placed under a state of calamity due to the devastation brought by Paeng. —KG, GMA News