PHNO-SB: IFUGAO BRIDGES: LINKS TO PEACE, PROGRESS AND SAFETY

IFUGAO BRIDGES: LINKS TO PEACE, PROGRESS AND
SAFETY

[PHOTO - STARWEEK COVER
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MANILA, JULY 18, 2012 (PHILSTARweek) Ifugao Province Gov. Eugene
Balitang vividly recalls the harrowing experience his people underwent last year
when typhoon "Pedring" slammed into Luzon and destroyed scores of roads and
bridges, including their own 51-year-old Burnay Bridge. Authorities said
"Pedring" killed over 45 people and devastated agricultural lands and
infrastructure worth at least P4 billion in Luzon.
"Bridges are the main artery connecting Ifugao Province to the lowlands. If
they go, we are cut off. During typhoon 'Pedring,' the Burnay Bridge collapsed.
For several days, areas in the province had no electricity and repair trucks
could not cross the Banao river because the bridge was down," Balitang says.

The Burnay Bridge was a concrete double-lane structure built in the 1960s,
and was a major linkage spanning the Banao river and connecting Ifugao Province
to the lowlands of Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela.
"Immediately after its collapse, on October 5, 2011, Secretary Rogelio
Singson, ordered the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) to es-
tablish an emergency bridge within 10 days. The bridge was opened to vehicular
traffic and pedes- trians on October 12, 2011," the governor says.
Working intensively, the detour bridge was com- pleted in only eight days.
The DPWH, through the President's Bridge Program (PBP) office, supplied
technical assistance and materials from British sup- plier Mabey & Johnson –
one "Compact 200" single lane steel superstructure 52 lineal meters long for the
emergency detour bridge, and one Delta type double lane superstructure roughly
54 lineal meters long for the reconstruction of the Burnay Bridge and DPWH
office in the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) – undertook the design and con-
struction of the substructure and the launching of the superstructures.
"I have to give credit to the fast response of DPWH. They provided
everything, from materials, to technical assistance. The emergency bridge was
done with the essence of timeliness," he says.
Singson's men worked on the emergency bridge round-the-clock despite
inclement weather, prompting Balitang to comment that "the DPWH acted like the
(Philippine) Marines."
"We were expecting to be isolated for a longer peri- od. In fact, panic
buying of basic goods like rice, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) and candles was
already starting and prices were going up. It turns out that the Capital of
Lagawe, including Hingyon, Hungduan, and Banaue and Mayoyao, sites of the rice
terraces, was isolated for only nine days," he says.
Balitang's story is just one of countless all over the country on how bridges
saved lives and brought education, health, peace and growth to far-flung
communities. His call for more bridges is just one of thousands from local
officials, religious leaders, businessmen, farmers, ordinary people, including
young school children, who have to ride bancas for several kilometers in
dangerous rivers or cross on "hanging" bridges just to get to attend classes.
The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) in 1986 estimated in its
Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) that the country needs, at the
very least, 15,000 bridges or an equivalent total of 200,000 lineal meters. This
is as- suming that old and existing bridges have not been rendered useless or
destroyed by earthquakes and powerful typhoons that hit the country every year
es-
timated to be at 10,000 lineal meters annually. Fully aware of the need to
physically connect the country's over 7,000 islands, the government in 1994
started the urgent PBP or the "Tulay ng
Pangulo" that continues up to this day. Former Vice President Teofisto
Guingona Jr. became the first chairman of the program after he signed the
Bilateral Protocol Agreement with British Minister Lady Baroness Chaulker to
provide steel bridges under highly concessional financing terms in the rural
areas.
The "Tulay ng Pangulo" spanned several ad- ministrations and never had any
adverse report from the Commission on Audit. It was even cited in November 2001
by the Government Auditors Confederation as best official development assis-
tance (ODA) performer for speeding up transporta- tion, linking islands to
ensuring the quicker flow of passenger and commodities to expand trade, tour-
ism and hasten agricultural development.

The success of the "Tulay ng Pangulo" has encouraged the Aquinoadministration
to conduct studies on continuing the program as its various components,
including the ones assisted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA), and the British and French governments have either proceeded on sched-
ule or have been completed before deadline at low cost, thus saving precious
taxpayers' money and al- lowing more work to be done.
The Duke of York, Prince Andrew earlier wrote that the British supply of over
one thou- sand five hundred bridges was a sign of the United Kingdom's
commitment for the economic growth of the Philippines.
"(The) bridges symbolize a permanent legacy of the co-operation between our
two countries – a legacy that will continue to provide rural infra- structure
links necessary for continuous economic and social development throughout the
country," Prince Andrew said in a message from Buckingham Palace.
The program's achievement echoes the suc- cessful implementation of a high
impact infra- structure program under a bilaterally-approved project framework
and highly concessional fi- nancing arrangements backed-up by the Export Credit
Guarantee Department of Her Majesty's Government under the 1995 United Kingdom
Aid and Trade Provisions and 1996 United Kingdom- Philippine Aid Consultation
matching that of the OECD and the World Bank. This opened the door for the
Philippines to access European ODA and opened the door for bilateral ties with
other countries like France, Austria, Spain, Japan and South Korea, providing
concessional financing.
Former Senate President Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel has also called for more
bridges, stating that it is the role of government to provide infra- structure
linkages, for "these will spur sustained socio-economic development."
"Bridges are essential elements to complete farm-to-market roads networks,
especially in rural areas," Pimentel says as he lauded the President's Bridge
Program's performance but adds that so much more needs to be done.
In line with President Aquino's stance of "daang matuwid (straight path)",
which is to establish big- ticket infrastructure programs at "right cost, right
place, right time," he suggested that the country seek out foreign donor bridge
suppliers using ODA loan packages.

Pimentel says these loans are concessional in na- ture or "soft," offering
much lower interest rates and longer terms compared to suppliers using
commercial loans. This assertion is backed by the DPWH, whose figures show one
French donor-supplier – Eiffel- Matiere – using a 10-year loan inclusive of a
six-year grace period, at 2.5 percent interest, and guaranteed by the French
exports credit agency, COFACE.
"This (ODA) is clearly advantageous to the gov- ernment," says the former
Senate President.
Comparatively, commercial loans used by other suppliers generally offer from
two to five-year terms, with interest ranging from 3.1 percent to 5.97 percent.

Pimentel emphasized people need to look be- yond the unit costs of
infrastructure. "These struc- tures pay for themselves many times over their
life span," he says. "The return on the country's invest- ment can be measured
in providing better lives, better livelihoods, development at the barangay and
municipal level, increased productivity and output and tourism, among others."

Prof. Merlyn Magallona, former Dean of the University of the Philippines
College of Law, said ODA is perhaps
the most advantageous form of financing available to developing econo- mies,
second only to outright grants or donations.
"These loans usually feature long payment terms and grace periods, and low or
concessional interest rates. There is also usually a non-cash grant component in
terms of training and capital machinery. That in turn translates into
technological and intellectual transfers that can be tapped over time,"
Magallona says.
"The most expensive financing for big-ticket in- frastructure projects would
entail paying for public projects with private funding, or commercial loans.
Short terms and high interest rates would mean that the government would begin
servicing the debt, while the project is still being built, meaning to say not
earning revenues yet," he says.
"It is in the interest of the government to evalu- ate durable and long-lived
technology, because the capacity for the infrastructure generate revenues and
therefore offset the expenses to finance it is linked to this. The longer the
infrastructure lasts, the more it can earn over time," he adds.
He says ODA funding is transparent and strictly monitored not just by one
government, but by two – the donor government, and the contracting government.

"Both (governments) keep an eye out for cost and time overruns, and quality
control. If incurred these immediately raise red flags. For this reason, I'm not
surprised that the French and the UK donor suppliers built their projects on
schedule and without cost overruns," he says.
"I agree that the country needs more bridges. The country lacks
infrastructure in general, but it's my opinion that building a pervasive
farm-to-market net- work, of which bridges and roll-on, roll-off ports are a key
element, should take precedence. It stands to reason, what good are airports if
tourists have a hard time getting to our domestic attractions in the islands? We
have so much more to offer than just Boracay, but even we Filipinos don't know
of it because we our- selves can't get there," Magallona says.
Emergency bridges program
Last year, when successive earthquakes hit the country, including the 6.9
magnitude tremor that rocked Negros Oriental and Cebu, two senior law- makers
urged the immediate activation of an emer- gency bridges program.
Negros Oriental Rep. Henry Pryde Teves and Benguet Rep. Ronald Cosalan called
on the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to
urgently consider the activation of an emergency bridge calamity response unit
under the PBP, for implementation and management by the DPWH.
Teves recalled the DPWH used to maintain stock- piles of modular steel bridge
components in depots strategically located throughout the country.
"The intention was to be able to react swiftly in times of emergency, to
quickly replace damaged or destroyed bridges and restore isolated communities,"
the lawmaker said. One of the powerful quakes that hit Visayas de-
stroyed four bridges all made out of concrete. "This shows the inherent need
to upgrade old de- signs with better, more modern technology," Teves earlier
said. "When concrete bridges collapse, they cannot be saved. With modular steel
technology, elements can be salvaged and used to rebuild bridges." Even
religious leaders are cognizant of the need for bridges in maintaining the
welfare of their flock. When Bishop Ramon Villena, D.D. for the Diocese of
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya was the chairman of the Cagayan Regional Development
Council, he prioritized infrastructure projects for Region 2, saying these
"jumpstart development in other industries, such as agriculture, tourism, and
help bring in investments." Villena has always maintained the major
intra-regional bridges and roads that connect to the national highways provide
improved routes for goods and services, especially to the rural areas.
"These are the places that need them most," he said, pointing out that in
rural areas, access to basic social services such as education, medical and
health facilities, is severely hampered by long routes, simply because no
bridges exist."
"Children walking many kilometers just to get to school, people suffering in
silence through the hard- ships of illness... if you limit the taxpayer's access
to social services, by way of commission or omission, that constitutes an
injustice in itself," he says.
Socio-Economic Growth, increased productivity, and tourism
Aklan is characterized by wide coastal low- lands and river systems lancing
through rugged terrain, landscape that is typical throughout rural Philippines.
Until recently, Madalag, a fourth class hinterland municipality in Aklan was
isolated by the mighty Panay river.
Its poverty incidence of 70 percent is much higher than the 33 percent
national average. Socio-economic development in Madalag had been limited by
access: to reach the town necessitated a Panay River crossing via boat or bamboo
raft; or by a circuitous, three-hour route passing three other municipalities.

In May 2012, Aklan Gov. Carlito Marquez inau- gurated the Madalag Bridge, a
200-meter, double- lane, modular steel wonder that links Madalag to Banga, which
is just 30 minutes by car from the Aklan capital of Kalibo. Built exclusively
from ex- cess components from other bridging projects, the overall cost was very
low, Marquez says.
Safety was among the reasons for building the bridge. Given the shortage of
bridges, it is not un- common that people in the hinterlands must ford shallow
rivers to access social services like public schools, jobs, markets, and
hospitals. "There is al- ways a risk associated to this," the governor says.

He said that before the bridge, three children died crossing the swollen
river to get to school. "Many stu- dents from there attend school in Kalibo,
because its the only place with a college. Teachers and profession- als who live
in Madalag work in Kalibo," pointed out Marquez. "This bridge is truly a vital
link."
Aside from safe, swift travel, he emphasized the bridge would spur
barangay-level development. "Rice is the primary crop of Madalag. About 29
percent of the land is productive with high-value crops," he says.
"This area is one of the major sources of aba- ca, which contributes to
making Aklan one of the world's largest suppliers of abaca fiber." Abaca fiber
is used for fabric, currency paper and rope, among others.
According to the Department of Agriculture, in 2008, the Philippines supplied
85 percent of the world's total abaca requirement. The world market price of
abaca fiber is steadily increasing. "The bridge is a farm-to-market component
head- ing from Madalag to Kalibo," Marquez says. "With that, farmers will be
encouraged to produce more." He adds that four years ago, abaca cost P20/kg.
"Abaca costs P52/kg now. That's a difference of P32/ kilo. If we produce at
least 10 tons daily, the impact on revenue is really significant. Travel will be
shortened
by at least 50 percent, increasing farmers' income." "With the bridge,
investments can head from Kalibo into the interior," he says. The local
government plans to
establish abaca and piña fiber trading posts. "Accessibility results in
development. The mo- ment you concrete the roads and build bridges, improvement
in lives and livelihoods will follow," Marquez says.
Access to idle lands
Through the PBP/Tulay ng Pangulo program, the Miputak – Santa Isabel bridge
was built to re- place the only means of access, a temporary bam- boo bridge
near the sea.
"Before Miputak-Sta. Isabel Bridge became a reality, the bamboo bridge would
be washed out anytime. Of course we would spend a lot of money to repair the
bamboo bridge immediately just to minimize the negative impact on the lives and
jobs of people," Mayor Evelyn Uy says.
The mayor expresses her deep appreciation to Public Works Secretary Rogelio
Singson for the PBP and how it has helped her constituents. She adds however
that the immediate construction of four more bridges was necessary to connect
the baran- gays to nearby municipalities.
"Madali kasi ma-install ang steel bridge at magan- da. Mas matibay itong
steel bridge at madaling gawin (The steel bridge is easy to install and quite
beauti- ful. It's stronger and easier to construct.)
Supplied by French firm Matiere in 2008, the bridges are complete solutions
that include a steel superstructure, anti-skid decks, pedestrian walk- ways, and
the substructure.
"These were erected in just months," Uy says.
"Noong wala pa ang tulay, palagi kaming binabaha at mawawala lamang ito after
two weeks. Hindi maka- galaw ang tao. But with the bridge, hindi na kami nag-
kaproblema, malaking tulong talaga. (Before the bridg- es, we would always get
flooded, and these would recede only after two weeks. People could not do
anything. Now, we don't have any problems. It's been a great help)," she says.

"Before the Miputak-Sta. Isabel Bridge, people would transport their goods
through habalhabal or single motorcycles, which cost a lot and limited the
amount to be transported. "Kung minsan itatawid sa bangka ang mga produkto."
(Sometimes the goods they carried would have to be ferried on small boats.)
However, with the existence of the bridge, transporta- tion is much cheaper,"
she adds.
Without the bridge, the mayor said, the barangays affected could not have
been interconnected, limiting the opportunities for socio-economic growth.
"Ang time of travel madali na. Hindi na kailangan umikot pa. (There's no need
to take the long route.) It saves time and gives tourists greater accessibility
to areas that have the potential to become tourist destinations," she says.
Uy mentions that people used to travel four ki- lometers by foot. With the
bridge, the distance has been cut to just one kilometer.
"Barangays like Miputak, Sta. Isabel, Dalas, Central and Sta. Filomena were
very much affected prior to the existence of the bridge because floods would not
subside for a period of two weeks," she said.
Economic pump-priming
In Kidapawan City, North Cotabato, the lo- cal government has noted a 10 to
15 percent annual revenue increase following the establishment of bridges in the
province through the Tulay ng Pangulo program.
Kidapawan Mayor Rodolfo Gantuangco attri- butes this is to the efficient
movement of greater volumes of high-value crops, which the establish- ment of 11
bridges around the city has enabled.
Kidapawan City is the primary trade center for six major municipalities whose
main revenues come from bananas, coconuts, palm oil, and rubber. Despite the
double–digit revenue growth, Gantuangco is seeking the construction of two more
modular steel bridges because official fig- ures show that vast lands suitable
for high-value crops remain untapped because they are inacces- sible.
Cotabato has a potential 42,640 hectares (HA) available for planting coconut
trees. Of this, only about 54 percent is utilized or about 23,026 HA.
Oil palms are another crop suited to Cotabato, and their primary by-product,
palm oil, is another high-value crop. However, of a total area for oil palm
plantation of 58,769 HA, less than 10 percent or 5,259 HA has been planted.
Cotabato also has an estimated 105,420 HA available for rubber trees. To
date, only 32,067 HA, or about 30 percent has been cultivated. "Access to idle
land, coupled with increased demand, will push the cultivation of more high
value crops," Gantuangco says.
Gantuangco indicates the bridges have allowed farm gate trade to take place
in bulk, resulting in greater efficiencies. "Trucks and trailers can easily pass
[the bridges], allowing for greater trade vol- ume. When there were no bridges,
people could only deliver small amounts of rubber, palm oil and bananas to
neighboring cities and provinces."
He adds that before the bridges, delivery of the products was very costly
since goods had to be "double handled," i.e. loaded and off-loaded numerous
times. "The lack of bridges also forced people to take a longer route to the
market," he says.
He pointed out that when cargo vehicles were heavily loaded, light bridges
and navigable ter- rain shallow rivers would become impassable due to the
weight. "What's worse is that during rains, even alternate routes are not
passable," he adds.
"With the bridges in place, travel time has been cut to less than a half," he
says.
Kidapawan City currently has 11 steel bridg- es, which according to
Gantuangco, has given the city government more access to remote areas for local
projects. These bridges were supplied by UK's Mabey & Johnson, under the
Special Zone for Peace and Development (SZOPAD) phase of the PBP.
Over the years, Cotabato has gone from being one of the country's most
challenged economies, to one of the most vigorous. As of 2006, Cotabato Province
stands 39th among the country's progres- sive provinces, based on the National
Statistics Coordination Board's (NSCB) measurement of poverty incidence.



Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi

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