Leyte gov’t vows to build road to remote village

BURAUEN, Leyte, Nov. 17 (PNA) - The provincial government is now finalizing plans for the construction of road linking the upland and remote village of Kagbana in this town to an existing road in Macarthur town.

Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said a team from the provincial government recently hiked to Kagbana village for five hours to further study the proposal.

“We are aware of the struggle of people there. We are hopeful that we can immediately look for funds because Kagbana is a special place,” Petilla said.

The proposed project aims to link Kagbana village to San Vicente village in MacArthur town, including the construction of a bridge crossing Marabong River.

The far-flung village, only accessible through hiking is a home to 60 families. With a distance of 40 kilometers, it is the farthest village from Burauen town center.

It can be reached through a two hour single motorcycle ride, traversing bumpy roads and three hours hike, crossing four mountains and three rivers.

Petilla recalled that construction of hanging bridge was previously considered by the Department of Social Welfare and Development under the Kalahi-CIDSS (Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Service), but it was not pushed through due to technical difficulties.

Kalahi-CIDSS is a community-driven development project that enables communities to choose, design and implement projects that address the most pressing needs.

Earlier, the Philippine Army volunteered to provide labor for building of the road through its engineering battalion.

Lt. Col. Henry Bellen, 546th engineering construction battalion based in Tacloban City confirmed that development for Kagbana village is their top priority under the internal security plan of the 78th Infantry Battalion based in this town.

“We will schedule a courtesy call to the governor so that we can talk about details of this plan and prepare all necessary documents for the realization of this project,” Bellen added.

The village is among far flung communities in Leyte province affected by communist insurgency.

Some residents of the village had already been recruited by armed rebels. Among them is a female tribe member who is a relative of the Mamanwa tribe leader.

Mayor Juanito Renomeron said that constructing road to the upland village is also a priority of the local government unit considering that the area is not accessible even to bicycles.

The local government will ask help from Leyte 2nd district Rep. Henry Ong to look for funds for the road project.

The governor and the mayor vowed to provide livelihood projects to Kagbana residents. (PNA)

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