BY RANDY V. URLANDA
A 325-meter long, tiled bay walk facing a small cove, similar to the one in Roxas Boulevard, along Manila Bay, is now being readied along the new 2.5-km road that will form the final connection to Boracay’s 5-km-long circumferential road. This would exit at Seraph in Bulabog and connect it with the existing road to Fairways & Bluewater Golf Resort complex to the north.
“The P100-million road project of the President is supposed to be finished on or before her term ends in June,” explains Project Engineer Aniceto Fernandez. “However, the SARO (sub-allotment advice release order) hasn’t been released yet, and we only got P4-million out of P100-million to start road-building.
The winding road starts at Tulubhan, in the southeastern part of the island, and passes at the edge of the island’s “dead forest,” a sprawling black swamp dotted with dead tree trunks hemmed by sparse mangroves. It continues to Bulabog beach on the East Coast, and was designed thrice before the fourth and final one was approved.
“A portion of the road near Kingfisher, a resort where the bay walk will be, gets submerged during high tide,” says Engineer Fernandez. “That’s why we have to raise it by 70 centimeters. Now, it’s way above the high tide water level.”
The 2.5-km road is the missing link in Boracay’s circumferential road that would help in alleviating heavy traffic along the main road on the West Coast, going to Boat Station 1 in Balabag, where most of the upscale resort hotels are located.
“We are supporting in any way we can this vital road network, which is the “baby” of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for it to be finished on time,” explains Eminent Persons Group (EPG) Group Secretary, Undersecretary Rey dela Rosa, whose office under the Office of the President is tasked to oversee the sustainable tourism development of the Philippines’ premier island destination, which last year, contributed P11-billion to the national coffers!
The main cause of the delay of the road project, aside from the budget deficiency, is a narrow portion that will pass through a densely populated neighborhood going to Bulabog. However, its residents have relented to have their fences and walls moved back to widen the road.
“The P100-million road project of the President is supposed to be finished on or before her term ends in June,” explains Project Engineer Aniceto Fernandez. “However, the SARO (sub-allotment advice release order) hasn’t been released yet, and we only got P4-million out of P100-million to start road-building.
The winding road starts at Tulubhan, in the southeastern part of the island, and passes at the edge of the island’s “dead forest,” a sprawling black swamp dotted with dead tree trunks hemmed by sparse mangroves. It continues to Bulabog beach on the East Coast, and was designed thrice before the fourth and final one was approved.
“A portion of the road near Kingfisher, a resort where the bay walk will be, gets submerged during high tide,” says Engineer Fernandez. “That’s why we have to raise it by 70 centimeters. Now, it’s way above the high tide water level.”
The 2.5-km road is the missing link in Boracay’s circumferential road that would help in alleviating heavy traffic along the main road on the West Coast, going to Boat Station 1 in Balabag, where most of the upscale resort hotels are located.
“We are supporting in any way we can this vital road network, which is the “baby” of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for it to be finished on time,” explains Eminent Persons Group (EPG) Group Secretary, Undersecretary Rey dela Rosa, whose office under the Office of the President is tasked to oversee the sustainable tourism development of the Philippines’ premier island destination, which last year, contributed P11-billion to the national coffers!
The main cause of the delay of the road project, aside from the budget deficiency, is a narrow portion that will pass through a densely populated neighborhood going to Bulabog. However, its residents have relented to have their fences and walls moved back to widen the road.
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