Antique provincial government asks DPWH to construct new road in Hamtic town

Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao urged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to build a new road and close the accident-prone road stretch at Barangay Igbucagay in Hamtic town.

The said road stretch is tagged by locals as a “killer curve” due to a series of fatal crashes in the area, the latest of which killed at least 18 people Tuesday last week.

“It is about time the DPWH put an end to ‘band-aid solutions’ to a long-sitting problem and build a new road before more people die,” Cadiao said.

Cadiao added that more than 50 people died in separate road accidents in the same spot in Igbucagay over the past years.

A Ceres bus loaded with 28 people overshot the curve and plunged into an 18-meter (or 60-foot) cliff killing 18 people including the driver, conductor, and two inspectors. Seventeen of the fatalities died on the spot while one patient died while being treated in a hospital in Iloilo.

Cadiao said she will meet with DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan on December 11 to discuss her concerns on the safety of the said stretch after expressing disappointment over the inaction of DPWH’S regional and district offices about the matter.

“I have not seen any concrete solutions after all the requests, and letters I made. Every time there is an accident at the “killer curve”, they always have a simple solution to it. {But} simple and experimental solutions are not acceptable.” Cadiao noted.

Cadiao reiterated that the DPWH should make an alternate road.  “If they have to cut through a mountain, then be it. The dead and the living are suffering because of their inaction,” she said.

Citing the funds under the road users’ tax, Cadiao noted that the DPWH can use this to build another road.

In a related incident, an 18-wheeler truck carrying cement bags hit a commuter van and crashed into a power pole in Antipolo causing a power outage and heavy traffic in parts of the city last December 4. The city has many curved roads traversed by trucks and other big vehicles.

Meanwhile, the DPWH has completed the construction of a slope project structure and road widening in Lubao, Pampanga.

The DPWH said the slope project and the Sapang Matwa Creek in Sitio Dampalit, Barangay Sta. Monica cost P17.8 million and was funded under the 2023 General Appropriations Act.

The project involved the construction of a 153.88-meter concrete slope protection using structural steel sheet piles, concrete pile caps, wheels guards and cement concrete pavement.

DPWH-2nd District Engineer Gregorio Audea Jr. said the project will protect communities situated around the creek from floods, as well as hasten the movement of people, goods, and services in the town of Lubao.

“The safety upgrades are specifically designed to protect motorists from potential accidents near the creek and will benefit road users,” Audea added.