BAGUIO CITY – President Arroyo ordered officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and project implementers to complete all the multi-billion-peso State of the Nation Address (SoNA) projects nationwide by the end of March 2010.

The Chief Executive gave the directive after learning from DPWH officials that most of her SONA projects, especially those in Northern and Central Luzon, have been heavily devastated by the onslaught of typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” over two months ago.

Public Works Secretary Victor A. Domingo said the new deadline imposed by the President to the agency and project implementers is attainable, especially when no disturbance will hit the country by the first quarter of 2010.

One major concern which was raised by the President was the immediate completion of the Bued River bridge in Sison, Pangasinan which was heavily damaged by typhoon “Pepeng,” thus, the DPWH will be forced to implement the project by virtue of negotiated bidding in order to ensure a smooth travel from Metro Manila to the Ilocos and Cordillera regions and vice versa.

In the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Domingo assured stakeholders that project implementers will be able to complete the President’s SoNA projects by the end of March this year considering that significant accomplishments have already been achieved over the past two months where there was no heavy downpour that prevailed that could have again stalled the completion of the projects.

While there is smooth implementation of the projects along the Mount Data to Bontoc section of the Halsema Highway and the Bontoc to Banaue sections of the same highway, Domingo emphasized project implementers have difficulty in fast-tracking the projects along the Bontoc-Lubuagan section of the Bontoc-Tabuk-Tuguegarao road because of alleged unreasonable road-right-of-Domingo stressed that people should come to realize it is a rare chance for them to have developed roads the soonest considering the presence of larger areas with bigger voting population which must first be developed, thus, the region has now a chance to improve their roads. way claims by reported war-like tribesmen who want to take advantage of the situation.

However, Domingo asserted concerned officials will still exercise diplomatic means to convince the property owners to give a portion of their private lands for the benefit of improved roads with just compensation, saying it will be the greater majority of the people in the far-flung communities who will benefit from better roads as a result of the heroic act of a few landowners in giving a portion of their lands where the roads could be widened.

Domingo stressed that people should come to realize it is a rare chance for them to have developed roads the soonest considering the presence of larger areas with bigger voting population which must first be developed, thus, the region has now a chance to improve their roads.