Larap road rehab to resume soon

     The end of the concrete road along the road to Larap in front of the Ramon Adea 

     property in Parang after materials had been exhausted recently. However, new supplies 

     are forthcoming and work resumes as soon as the dry season sets in. – MWBuzzpic by 

     ARNEL P HERNANDEZ

WITH the completion of the Parang road project, the next phase would be the resumption of the rehab work on the five-kilometer Parang-Larap road.

A source close to Mayor Dong Padilla told MWBuzz the project is “expected to speed up with the coming of the dry season”.

So far, the project has just covered the stretch from “biglang liko” on the outskirts of Mambulao, up to the Adea property facing the the coastline of Mambulao Bay.

The sourse said: “Hanggang sa may property ni Ramon Adea pa lang po ang kalsada … pero ngayong tag-init ay magiging tuloy-tuloy na ang paggawa ng mga kalsada.”

The Adea segment of the Larap road is about five kilometers from the Larap proper.

The source said Mayor Ricarte Padilla is determined to complete the Larap road project, hopefully before his term ends middle of next year.

Earlier, he has appealed to the public, particularly the members of Batch 81, for a donation of bags of cement, gravel and sand.

“I appeal to the generosity of our kababayans to join us in our program called "A bag of cement for a cause". 

Padilla said this program is being spearheaded by the JPNHS Batch 81. 

As of last May, he said they had received pledges for about 3,000 bags, 1,000 of which would come from by Batch 81. 

Padilla also said that his office was in talks with several investors who have intentions to revive the iron mines in Larap.

They could also be potential donors of road building materials, Padilla said, as quoted by the source.

Travelers and motorists have to endure the hassle of traveling the Parang-Larap road, whose entire stretch has been inundated by pot holes.

Most affected are the people living in Calero, Malapayungan, Pag-asa, Sparline and Larap proper.

Natives of Larap based overseas had expressed shock every time they saw pictures of the Larap road in its “hopeless state”.

Padilla said his government is trying to complete the rehabilitation of about 80km of municipal baranggay roads. 

He has vowed to complete the rehab of the road “before his term ends in June 2013”.

      A portion of the rough road to Larap at Calero-Malapayungan area. - MWBuzzpic by 
      ARNEL P HERNANDEZ

Enrile gives Php3m to Calero road project

A PORTION of the Larap road project in baranggay Calero has received a Php3 million funding from Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, it was learned this week.

An MWBuzz source said the money was sent by the office of the senator straight to the bank account of the baranggay.

The source said Enrile’s assistance is among some development funds committed to the municipality of Mambulao.

With the Php3 million, the municipal government is certain that the Larap road cementing project, which temporarily stopped just outside Parang, would soon cover the lane passing through baranggay Calero.

It costs at least Php5 million to build 1km of road, according to Mayor Dong Padilla.

However, Enrile’s assistance would be complemented by another Php1 million earmarked by the local government alongside donated road building materials that have been received so far.

Padilla said that the cementing of the Larap road will resume as soon as the dry season sets in.

4 baranggays to get farm-to-market roads

 

      This is the road going to Baranggay San Rafael. – MWBuzzpic by ARNEL P HERNANDEZ

FOUR farming baranggays in Mambulao will have their farm-to-market roads this year.

This will become possible with a Php80 million development funding from the Department of Agrarian Reform, according to an MWBuzz source.

A counterpart funding of Php80 million will come from the provincial government of Camarines Nort, the source said.

Covered by this project are the baranggays of Tamisan, San Martin, San Pedro and San Rafael.

Farmers from these areas have long complained about the difficulty of bringing farm produce to the town market due to the poor condition of their roads.

On the other hand, operators of jeepneys and tricycles complained about the high cost of maintaining their vehicles.

The source said the funding assistance will boost the road rehabilitation-road cementing project of the local government.

Mayor Dong Padilla said he intends to complete the project this year.

Mountain top school

    Grand vista … Students of the Milagros Villarasa-Torres National High School at 

     Baranggay Osmena just outside the poblacion of Mambulao, walk towards their school. 

     The new national high school was established to honor Mrs Milagros Villaras-Torres, 

     mother of businessman Roberto V Torres, who is a graduate of the Jose Panganiban 

     National High School. MFTNHS, which sits on a mountain top overlooking the Mambulao 

     Bay (partly hidden) and is just next to Baranggay Gawad Kalinga, has 200 students – from 

     first year to fourth year. It serves students from Baranggay Osmena, GK Village and 

     nearby communities. – Text by AP HERNANDEZ , MWBuzzpic by ARNEL  P HERNANDEZ

JP not among geo-hazard areas in Bicol

      A portion of the road to Larap just outside Parang where frequent   

      landslides occur during prolonged rainfalls. But the MGB said landslides 

      like this is not that serious, unlike in other areas in Bicol where the    

      whole mountainside would crumble down, dragging with it the houses on 

      its slope. – MWBuzzpic by ARNEL P HERNANDEZ

 By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

MAMBULAOANS can take a sigh of relief: Their community is not among the 40 municipalities in Bicol that are highly susceptible to natural disasters such as floods and landslides.

Of the 40 municipalities, 26 are high risk of flooding while 14 towns are highly susceptible to landslides, according to the Mines and Geo-Science Bureau’s regional office in Legazpi City.

The  towns of Capalonga and Labo in Camarines Norte are among 26 the flood-prone areas due to logging operations in their respective areas.

Although Mambulao sits between a mountain range and the Mambulao Bay, the possibility of flooding or landslides is almost absent as there are no logging operations in the municipality that could trigger soil erosions during prolonged rainfalls. 

The 40 towns have been identified by the Mines and Geo-Science Bureau following the completion of the 50,000-scale Bicol geo-hazard mapping done by the bureau’s regional office in Albay under the Geohazard Mapping and Assessment Project (GMAP).

Arlene Dayao, supervising geologist and head of the Geosciences Division, said geo-hazard maps had been distributed to LGUs, including barangay officials since they are the ones on the front lines.

 “We have already informed the local government units of these hazard areas and MBG had conducted series of seminars to explain the details of our findings,” she said in an interview with local media in Legaspi City.

Dayao said it was crucial that local officials of these hazard areas consider the data contained in the maps in coming up with their disaster-risk reduction plans as well as their land use maps to avoid disasters that might hit vulnerable areas.

Local officials should no longer allow human habitation on areas that had been identified as high-risk for flooding and landslides, she stressed.

Dayao identified the towns of Caramoran, Gigmoto, San Andres and Viga as the most flood-prone together with Manito, Sto Domingo and Tiwi in Albay, Capalonga and Labo in Camarines Norte, Pasacao and Sangay in Camarines Sur, Baleno in Masbate and Juban and Magallanes in Sorsogon province.

Based on the geo-hazard mapping conducted by the MGB, almost half of Camarines Sur’s municipalities are classified as high risk areas for flooding, which include the towns of Baao, Bato, Bombon, Buhi, Bula, Cabusao, Calabanga, Camaligan, Canaman, Gainza, Libmanan, Magarao, Milaor, Minalabac, Nabua and San Fernando, which are mostly part of the Bicol River Basin.

Dayao said the Bato- Baao areas serve as catch basin of flood waters from Albay before it flow north up to Naga City and San Fernando.

Three towns in Albay- Libon, Oas and Polangui are also classified as flood-prone areas together with the municipalities of Bato and Viga in Catanduanes, Juban in Sorsogon, Mercedez, Talisay and Vinzons in Camarines Norte.

The cities of Legazpi, Tabaco and Naga were classified as moderately susceptible to floodings.

Meanwhile, Catanduanes has been identified as the most landslide-prone province in the region based on the same study conducted by MGB.

 “Mainly it’s because rock formations in that province are already old and cracked and many of its mountains are covered with thick soil which erode during heavy rains” Dayao explained.

She also attributed the hazard to the past commercial logging activities that occurred in Catanduanes wherein illegal cutting of trees still happens until now.

Dayao identified the towns of Caramoran, Gigmoto, San Andres and Viga as the most flood-prone together with Manito, Sto Domingo and Tiwi in Albay, Capalonga and Labo in Camarines Norte, Pasacao and Sangay in Camarines Sur, Baleno in Masbate and Juban and Magallanes in Sorsogon province.

The cities of Ligao and Sorsogon were listed as moderately prone to landslides.

Aside from the flooding and landslides, Dayao also warned of another geo-hazard especially in the province of Sorsogon.

The MGB official said ground subsidence or sink holes are observed in at least three areas in the province, the towns of Gubat and Prieto-Diaz, in the district of Bacon in Sorsogon City and in Guinobatan, Albay.

She said sink hole, which vary in depths, usually occurs when lime stones underground are dissolved and carried away by underground water or when the roof of an underground cave collapses.