BAGUIO CITY — The national government approved the release of P496 million from the P12 billion calamity fund for the restoration of damages inflicted by typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” to the major road networks in the different parts of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) which must be completed on or before June 30, 2010.

Out of the said amount, P107 million was already utilized by the different district offices of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the Cordillera for the payment of equipment rentals that were commissioned by the agency to totally or partially open the road networks that suffered from numerous landslides that were triggered by the record-breaking rains.

Alexander Castañeda, DPWH-CAR assistant regional director for construction operations, said the agency will take advantage of the prolonged dry spell to implement all approved and funded road rehabilitation and restoration works along major national roads in the different parts of the region so that the various infrastructure projects will be useful during the following months, especially during the rainy season.

Earlier, the DPWH-CAR submitted to its central office a total of over P1.4 billion worth of damages to the various roads and bridges in the region which was subject for evaluation and validation by the concerned technical teams prior to the release of its share from the calamity fund of the national government.

Because of the ongoing implementation of the ban on the release of funding for projects and the implementation of infrastructure projects nationwide, Castañeda claimed the public works department will have to make use of the released funds in order to restore the damaged roads and bridges in order to make them workable in time for the rainy season which is expected to prevail over Luzon by July this year since the El Niño phenomenon is expected to last until June.

Initially, Constante Sarmiento, DPWH-CAR maintenance chief, disclosed that all the road rehabilitation and restoration works embodied in the released funding were already subjected to the regular bidding process and will be awarded to the winning contractors for ready implementation anytime to ensure that the region’s road networks will be in excellent condition during the onslaught of the rainy season.

According to Castañeda, the P396 million was already earmarked for the implementation of un-programmed projects that will be under the care of the different district offices so that all the roads and bridges that were damaged by the recent natural calamities will be restored for an efficient travel.