Historic Limasawa town gets tourism road upgrade

LIMASAWA, Southern Leyte, April 6 (PNA) -- The central government is building high a standard circumferential road in this tiny island for convenience of tourists going to historical sites and picturesque natural wonders.

Department of Public Works and Highways Southern Leyte District Engineering Office (DPWH-SLDEO) chief Ma. Margarita C. Junia said they are converting a gravel road into a highway, comparable to a major thoroughfare in Leyte province.

“The road width is 6.1 meters, just like Palo-Carigara-Ormoc Road prior to widening. With thickness of nine inches, this as thick as Daang Maharlika,” Junia told reporters during a project inspection here.

The official was referring to the main road that links the two major trading centers in Eastern Visayas – Tacloban City and Ormoc City.

“Even if this is an island town, we have to follow the standards set by the DPWH and Department of Tourism,” Junia said.

The infrastructure agency is now implementing the PHP43.17 million road project, which aims to pave 1.6-kilometer bumpy road. The project has started last March 20.

This is the third phase of the 3.9-kilometer portion of the Limasawa Circumferential Road.

Part of the future development is to build a road on the other side of the Limasawa Island to fully complete the circumferential highway, according to Junia.

The DPWH started the concreting project in 2013 with an outlay of PHP36 million for 1.23 kilometer. For 2014, the project got a PHP32 million funding for 1.1 kilometer.

The road links the six villages of the town - San Agustin, San Bernardo, Triana 1, Triana 2, Magallanes, and Lugsongan. 

The town’s provincial road has total length of six kilometers, but some portions were paved by the local government before the central government invested on tourism access road.

Limasawa Mayor Melchor Petracorta said the road project reaffirms the national government’s commitment to sustain the development of the island as tourist haven.

“The locals will really benefit from this tourism road since it would be easier for them to bring products to the market,” Petracorta said.

The road tourism projects included local roads under the jurisdiction of the local governments. Many of these local roads, which serve as entry and exit points of tourist destinations are being paved and upgraded to national road standards.

In Limasawa, the completion of concreting is part of the preparation for the 500th commemoration of the First Mass on March 31, 2021.

The island town is the site of the national shrine where the First Catholic Mass in the Philippines and Asia was celebrated in 1521.

Limasawa is a sixth class town and an island of the same name in Southern Leyte, with a population of about 6,000, making it the smallest town in the province, both in population and area.

The island town holds an annual commemoration of the first Catholic Mass in the Philippines through the Sinugdan Festival every March 31.

Aside from its rich history, the town is also endowed with natural wonders. The island is surrounded with clear blue waters and white sand beaches. (PNA)
BNB/SQM/DPWH-SOUTHERN LEYTE PR/EGR