Some 80 meters of the road network that directly links Arakan town in Cotabato province to Davao City had been badly damaged by the torrential rains brought about by typhoons Tino and Uwan, prompting authorities to shut the road down to all types of vehicles, including motorcycles, since Monday.
Leonardo Reovoca, Arakan information officer, told the Inquirer that the 2nd Engineering District of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC) of Arakan town had to shut down the highway on Monday to prevent accidents or loss of lives.
‘This is a precautionary measure while efforts are underway to repair the damaged road network so that agricultural goods can be transported again and the people from Arakan can use the road again in going to Davao city,’ he said.
Despite the road signage and reminders, however, motorcycle drivers still attempt to cross, risking life and limb.
Torrential rains brought about by typhoon Tino and Super typhoon Uwan had loosened the soil at Sitio Pormon, a subvillage between Barangays Salasang and Katipunan of Arakan town, resulting in cracks and landslides.
The road, which spans 18 kilometers, has been the shortest route from Arakan town to Davao City, and farmers have been using it to bring their farm produce to the city.
Although the cracks were first noted on October 21, prompting DPWH to release its first warning to motorists, it was on Monday, when the cracks worsened following the rains brought by Supertyphoon Uwan.
Motorists, commuters, and traders have asked the DPWH in Cotabato province to prioritize its repair as its closure hampered the flow of goods and services in the area.
On October 21, DPWH put up signage in the area, reminding motorists to take extra care in passing through the road due to cracks on the pavement. Even then, DPWH no longer allowed cargo trucks and heavy equipment, but only motorcycles and light cars to pass through the road.
‘This is something unusual because the soil under the concrete pavement has been slowly eroding, destroying the concrete road,’ Reovoca said.
Repeated rains triggered by the prevailing low-pressure area in the province in the previous weeks and the onslaught of the two typhoons worsened the soil erosion and led to the landslides in Sitio Pormon.
Reovoca said that aside from the treacherous cracks noted on some 80-meter span of the highway, landslides also destroyed about one hectare of farm planted to banana and durian trees in nearby Sitio Sinai.
He likened the landslides in Sitio Sinai to the October 18 landslides that cut the national highway in Palacapao, Quezon town of Bukidnon.
He said that even the retaining walls along the road showed cracks as if an earthquake or major ground shaking had occurred.
Reovoca said there were two alternate routes to the Bukidnon-Davao (Buda) highway, but these alternate routes were longer by about 50 to 60 kilometers, prompting the local government of Arakan to ask DPWH to prioritize the repair of the damaged road or establish another route so that the movement of goods and people would not suffer