KALSANGI, Polomolok, South Cotabato – President Arroyo has set aside R30 million to complete the construction of the remaining 27-kilometer Palimbang-Kalamansig stretch, which is considered the “missing link” of the Mindanao Highway.

But due to the volatile peace and order situation in the area, the President ordered Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Victor Ibrado to tap the AFP Engineering Brigade to construct the road that would finally connect the coastal highway from General Santos City to Cotabato City via the Palimbang-Kalamansig stretch in Sultan Kudarat.

President Arroyo’s directive was an offshoot of the report of Sultan Kudarat Governor Teng Mangudadatu and Rep. Arnulfo Go (2nd District, Sultan Kudarat).

Mangudadatu told President Arroyo that only the 27-kilometer stretch remains to be constructed to link the towns of Palimbang and Kalamansig and end the isolation of the two municipalities to the various urban centers in Mindanao.

“We will be solving two problems Madam President once the Palimbang-Kalamansig highway is finished. First, poverty would be solved as the local economy would progress, and second, peace and order would be stabilized as threats posed by Moro rebels and bandits would be curbed,” the governor said.

The Department of Public Works and Highways reported that the said remaining span is the missing link of the Mindanao Highway starting from Marawi City and runs through various provinces and cities around Mindanao.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo dined Thursday with the local press here at the Kalsangi Club House of Dole Philippines, Inc. after she witnessed the launching of the Pangasius catfish industry and the one-stop electronic document for businesses in Central Mindanao in nearby Dolores Farm Resort.

The select journalists that were invited to a roundtable dinner with the President were Anne Santos of ABS-CBN General Santos City, Vince Fermalino of dxKI-AM radio of Koronadal City and this reporter of the Manila Bulletin.

Mrs. Arroyo said that she had long wished to travel by land from Kalamansig to Palimbang in Sultan Kudarat since she was a senator and a Cabinet member but failed due to the absence of road.