300m in Laka, Candanas

not road, but pathway

CANDANAS, GARCIA HERANDEZ, Bohol (PIA)— Over the scathing criticisms from the uninformed who are quick to the bash on the kind of materials used in the construction of a 300 meter road section that has gone down the slopes with the landslide, Barangay Chairman Anthony Ledesma clarifies: that was a pathway.

The section of the Provincial Road from Barangay Tabuan to Candanas proper, was not constructed as a road, but as locally funded pathway, considering that over the years, for three times already, that segment of road ends up land-slid, as the base continues to move, according to chairman Ladesma.

A road is typically built as a wide, constructed surface designed for heavy vehicles to travel through, while a pathway is a narrower route, often made for walking or light vehicles.

While roads are built with materials like asphalt or concrete to handle heavy traffic, the subject pathway was still constructed out of concrete but was not designed to carry heavy load, so that the use of deformed bars was set aside.

Located in Purok 1 and Purok 6, the place is even called Sitio Laka, possibly because of the frequent landslides occurring there.

The Provincial Government has always allocated funds for the repair of the road section, but we had to realign the funds otherwise, it becomes a waste, he added.

In lieu of that, the BLGU sourced out funds for a pathway, if only to make sure that the community can have comfortable access to the barangay center.

According to residents, with the landslides, the alternate route for the 300 meter vanished pathway section is some three kilometres of walk through secondary forests trails.

It is just so fortunate that the landslide did not happen fast, Ledesma said.

Residents have accordingly noticed slight fissures and cracks on the pathway and its base after Tino, which worsened after typhoon Uwan.

We were able to evacuate the residents of Purok 6 and Purok 1, whose houses were on the risk of getting slid along with the slowly moving land, the chairman confessed.

By Monday, November 3, the cracks have widened, the pathway slabs started to break and the occasional cracks could be heard and boulders simply roll down the hill, residents shared.

During daytime, it would be hard to see the movement, but after a full night, the difference would be so dramatic that a waiting shed which was still perched on the edge of the slide, is now invisible, possibly buried in the mountains of limestones.

We had 11 houses evacuated permanently, and they are now living with relatives, as the landslide has already claimed 5 hectares leaving a limestone-scarred hill in what was then a secondary forest complete with a giant ficus that is now a reminder of how earth can be unstoppable.

Totally affected houses include those owned by the following: Francisco Caceres Jr., Francisco Caceres Sr., Lito Echon, Christian Paypa, Conrado Abayan, Pablo Taer, Darius Haloc, Roger Madeloso, Ruben Falcon, Gervasio Falcon, and Romel Falcon.

A hut, occupied by Gaspar Dajan is also among the houses totally wrecked by the still moving landslide.

For Candanas residents, while landslides like this have ruined their access roads thrice, and while the area has been declared no trespassing site, the choice of traversing the 300 meter by venturing into the land slid trails in 10 minutes is still much more convenient that an hour of walk through a safe alternate route. (PIAbohol)

TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION. From fissures initially observed on November 3, after a week, a five hectare landslide has washed away the 300 meter section of road constructed temporarily as pathway due to the constant movement of the soil. Rains brought by typhoons Tino and Uwan seeped into the fissures and accelerated the soil movement effectively cutting access to Barangay Candanas. Here residents create a dangerous trail for them to pass the 300 meter landslide or walk the 3 kilometer alternate trail. (PIABohol/RVO)