MANILA, (PNA) -–The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Tuesday declared that all municipalities in earthquake-ravaged province of Bohol are now fully-accessible.
DILG Secretary Manuel Roxas II said personnel from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Provincial Engineering Office of Bohol have been working almost 24 hours a day to ensure that all roads remain inter-connected and that no municipality is isolated from the major highways.
“All towns are fully accessible. The previously isolated towns of Loon, Maribojoc and Antiquera are now reachable in two hours from Tagbilaran,” Roxas declared.
With this, Roxas said that the delivery of relief assistance to the victims in the remote areas will not only be ensured but also it will become faster.
Roxas also said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), together with volunteer groups of mountaineers and hikers, have also dispatched teams to help in the delivery of relief goods even to far-flung barangays devastated by the killer quake.
”There is no more excuse for the relief goods not to reach our people. The government is ensuring that we have enough supply of relief goods to distribute,” said Roxas.
As of Sunday night, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported that government personnel and volunteer groups have delivered a total of 94,300 family food packs or an average of 22,000 a day to damaged areas in Bohol.
Roxas said DSWD personnel in the province are also stepping up their repacking operations in order to increase their delivery to 30,000 a day for at least another week.
”There is no reason to hoard the relief goods for fear of running out of supplies. The DSWD has enough supply to feed the quake-affected people on a daily basis,” assured Roxas.
Last Oct. 19, Roxas himself drove the lead vehicle of a convoy that visited the towns of Sagbayan, Clarin, Tubigon, Antiquera, Maribojoc, Catigbian, Balilihan and Corella to check the condition of the roads, bridges, and evacuation centers.
The convoy, which included DSWD Sec. Dinky Soliman, Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto, and other local officials, travelled 250 kilometers within six hours through reopened and alternate roads.
“We made sure that all the roads leading to the most-affected areas are passable so that there will be no excuse not to deliver the relief goods like food, water and other basic needs of our people,” said Roxas.