CORDON, ISABELA - the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Cordon, Isabela officially opened two core local access roads funded through the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) last January 29, 2024.
One of the projects inaugurated was the concreted Core Local Access Road with slope protection at Villamarzo funded through the Seal of Good Local Governance Incentive Fund (SGLGIF) of 2022. The Villamarzo Road which is one of the major Barangay access road links five rural barangays in the Municipality of Cordon benefitting a total of 7,585 individuals.
Another project inaugurated was the Rehabilitation/Upgrading of Core Local Access Road traversing barangays Dallao and Taliktik which was funded through the Local Government Support Fund – Financial Assistance to Local Government Units (LGSF-FALGU) of 2022 with a total length of 2.1 km.
Regional Director Agnes A. De Leon of DILG Region 2 addressed the residents, officials, and functionaries, insisting that credit should be given to the LGU, not the DILG, as they were the implementing unit of the said projects. She clarified that the Department only provided specifications and guidelines needed for project implementation and monitoring. RD De Leon, a local of Diffun, Quirino, fondly recollected how she used to traverse the roads of Cordon from Quirino going to Santiago when she was assigned as City Local Government Operations Officer (CLGOO) before being promoted and deployed to DILG Region 1. She praised the LGU for the improvements they have made for the people and applauded Mayor Lynn M. Zuniega’s leadership for prioritizing the concreting and rehabilitation of these farm to market roads, crucial for various Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) residing in the barangays of Dallao, Taliktik, and Villamarzo.
Mayor Zuniega expressed gratitude to the Government through DILG for the funds provided to their LGU for concreting and upgrading the core local access roads for the constituents of Cordon. She conveyed that receiving a financial assistance through the LGSF-FALGU for their LGU was unexpected and acknowledged that without these grants, the concreting of these barangay roads would not have been possible. Given that these barangays are major sources of agricultural produce in their municipality, the roads were prioritized to ease transport and reduce spoilage. Mayor Zuniega also stated during the ribbon-cutting and inauguration ceremony that the LGU would provide a counterpart to fill the gaps not yet concreted in these projects.
The Punong Barangays of Villamarzo, Dallao and Taliktik expressed their gratitude to the LGU and the DILG for the completion of these projects. They emphasized that with the completion of these local roads, farmers in their barangays would no longer face difficulties transporting their corn, palay, and tilapia to buyers and sellers. They also wished that the Government would continue to provide financial assistance to their barangays through opening more farm to market roads.
David D. Maguling, former Punong Barangay of Taliktik, reflected on the challenges they faced in securing funds for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Taliktik-Dallao Road. He expressed gratitude to the DILG for providing significant funding for road concreting, improving the lives of residents, especially corn farmers and tilapia raisers in their barangay. Maguling highlighted the difficulties they experienced during the rainy season when the roads were muddy, causing inconvenience and how the road concreting has made a considerable positive impact on their community.
Maguling extended thanks to the Mayor for overseeing the implementation of the fund in their barangay. He even made a lighthearted remark about their barangay being unsearchable on Google before the project's completion. He expressed hope that with the road completion, it could be easily located via global positioning system [GPS]. Additionally, he noted that the travel time to their barangay has been significantly reduced from two hours to just 30 minutes, thanks to the improved road. Maguling emphasized that pregnant women now have better access to hospitals for childbirth, a notable improvement from the past when some had to give birth by the roadside.
IO II Louella Marie T. Pader
