PUBLIC Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Tuesday ordered government engineers to carve a makeshift ladder along the alternative route used by stranded commuters at the landslide-hit section of the Cagayan de Oro–Bukidnon–Davao Highway in Sitio Kipolot, Barangay Palacapao, Quezon town.
Dizon, who personally inspected the area, said he nearly slipped while testing the temporary footpath being used by commuters in what locals call the “dawat-dawat” system — where passengers transfer from one bus parked on the Davao side to another on the Bukidnon side.
“I almost slipped when I tried walking on the route they’re using. We need to make it safer for the public as soon as possible,” Dizon told reporters.
The secretary gave the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 10 one week to complete the makeshift ladder to ease the difficulties of hundreds of stranded travelers who currently cling to metal scaffolding while crossing the temporary route.
Dizon said full restoration of the highway could take up to seven months, including soil testing and the awarding of contracts to contractors.
He added that engineers are also studying an alternate route near the affected area, but it must first undergo soil stability tests.
“We have to wait about two months for the results of the soil tests,” Dizon said.
He said that once the soil tests are completed, engineers can begin designing the proposed alternative road by carving it along the unaffected slopes, with construction expected to take about five months.
Meanwhile, Quezon town public information officer Lyle Justine Egay reported that an excavator managed to reach the pit where the green tricycle — locally known as a “bao-bao” — of missing couple Ely and Thelma Ubatay was found roughly 50 meters down the landslide site.
The Ubatays, residents of Purok 9, Barangay Kahusayan in Kitaotao, were traveling home on October 18 when a massive landslide swept through Sitio Kipolot, burying their vehicle in mud and debris.
Egay said two more excavators and K-9 search teams are expected to arrive Thursday to intensify the search operations.
“We will not give up the search for the couple. We’ll continue to pour resources into finding them,” Egay said.
Authorities said they remain hopeful of recovering the couple and fully reopening the major highway link between Northern Mindanao and Davao once the terrain stabilizes and reconstruction begins.
