ILOILO City – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is scheduled to visit the province of Antique today to check people affected by Severe Tropical Storm “Paeng” last week.
Gov. Rhodora “Dodod” Cadiao confirmed yesterday that the advance party for the presidential visit had already arrived in the province.
The governor said she will take the opportunity to relay to the President the concerns of the province relative to the impact of the typhoon and other matters.
Among others, she will appeal to the President to prioritize small provinces like Antique and Guimaras in the distribution of projects and the implementation of plans by the national government.
“Maliit kami na probinsya, mahirap kami pero lagi kaming huli sa distribution ng mga pera or plano ng national government. Nag-RDC (Regional Development Council) chair ako ng anim na aton and yet ang highway namin linking to Iloilo, that is a 45-minute ride, took three years for DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) to finish kasi wala daw budget,” Cadiao expressed.
The governor lamented that while Metro Manila and other cities are now enjoying skyways, Antique still endures decades-old bridges, some of which were built during the time of the President’s father and namesake, the late former president Marcos Sr., in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.
Cadiao also hopes that old bridges in Antique will be reconstructed.
One of the major bridges in the province, the Paliwan Bridge that links the north and the south areas of the province, got destroyed during the onslaught of “Paeng.”
She will also raise the completion of a road or new highway from Antique to Cabatuan, Iloilo via Leon town.
“Iloilo side ang problema, ang Antique side naayos na namin,” she said.
Antique was further “isolated” from the regional center Iloilo City because of the damaged Oyungan Bridge in Miag-ao, Iloilo. Goods and commodities, including fuel supplies, could not reach the province because the bridge became impassable to vehicles. The alternate route is via Aklan province.
The provincial government has to resort to renting a roll-on/roll-off vessel to ferry fuel tankers to Antique from Iloilo.
Cadiao will also push for flood control projects, especially in the area of Culasi and Hamtic towns.
“May dalawang malaking suba (river) kami na kapag indi nalagyan ng flood control, ma-wash out ang dalawang malaking towns ng Hamtic and Culasi,” said Cadiao.
Antique was the hardest-hit province in Western Visayas during the onslaught of “Paeng”.
Of the 36 confirmed deaths and six missing in the region, 13 deaths and four missing were from Antique, based on the Nov. 5 report of the Emergency Operation Center of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) Region 6.
The typhoon also affected 18 municipalities with 507 barangays and a total of 46,104 families composed of 187,502 individuals.
As validated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 6, a total of 347 houses have been totally damaged in Antique while 2,354 others were partially damaged./PN
