TACLOBAN CITY – Residents of eight remote farming villages in Oras, Eastern Samar municipality in Eastern Visayas, are anticipating the realization of their longstanding dream - a concrete road that will ease their burden in the conveyance of goods and patients.
The seven road concreting projects, with a total budget of Php 100 million, were funded by the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF) and will traverse the barangays of Iwayan, Minap-os, Nadacpan, Saurong, Agsam, San Eduardo, Alang-alang, and Cadi-an.
House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-List Representative Marcelino Libanan, together with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Eastern Visayas Regional Director Robert Anthony Yu and Mayor Roy Ador, led the groundbreaking ceremonies on April 11, 2023, in Barangay Saurong.
The seven farm-to-market road projects, with a total length of 6.8 kilometers, are part of DAR's Sustainable and Resilient Agrarian Reform Communities (SuRe ARCs) project.
According to Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Danilo Lozada, more than 10,000 residents in these remote villages will benefit from the road projects, with 3,616 being agrarian reform beneficiaries.
The road projects will not only ease the transport of goods but will also make it easier and safer for students to go to school, patients to go to health facilities, and relief assistance to be delivered to these areas even during bad weather.
The ARF, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. restored last year, is part of the government's Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which aims to provide support projects for agrarian reform beneficiaries to improve their quality of life. The road projects are among the nine primary goals of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III for the next six years.
Local media personality Daisy Belizar, who grew up in Barangay Cadi-an, the farthest among the eight villages, shared that the villages are situated upstream along the Oras River and use "sampan" to go to the town proper. With the completion of the road projects, it would be easy and safe for the residents to travel, especially during bad weather.
Barangay Agsam chairperson Gloria Lomuntad expressed happiness that their dream would soon be realized. She said transporting their products would become accessible, and the residents of Barangays Agsam, Iwayan, Minap-os, Alang-alang, and Cadi-an would benefit from the road projects. —iTacloban (Source: DAR)