JAPANESE engineering expertise is being tapped to strengthen a rockfall protection system along a major Benguet highway as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) moves to make roads in mountainous areas safer during the rainy season.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Wednesday said the DPWH, in coordination with its Japanese partners, will further strengthen the curtain net along the Gov. Bado Dangwa National Road to better protect motorists and commuters from falling rocks and soil, particularly during heavy rain.
The move came after Dizon's recent inspection of the damaged slope-protection structure in Daclan, Tublay, where the Japanese-installed metal curtain wall had been damaged after prolonged heavy rains triggered a soil collapse.
The rockfall protection system proved its efficacy by catching debris and maintaining road safety, even though a section ultimately collapsed.
Dizon said the DPWH is collaborating with its Japanese partners to reinstall the damaged section and implement design improvements to enhance the system's resilience.
Complementing these repairs, Dizon added that the DPWH plans to install shotcrete slope protection higher up the mountain to stabilize loose terrain.
The latest intervention also comes as the Cordillera faces recurring landslides and road slips during periods of prolonged rain, making slope stabilization and rockfall protection critical to keeping mountain highways open and safe.
Dizon's road-safety push extends to Northern Mindanao, where he expressed concern over the condition and funding of old bridges, including the Tagoloan and Odiongan bridges, during an inspection with Misamis Oriental Rep. Yevgeny Vincente Emano and Rep. Karen Lagbas.
The DPWH chief was disappointed to find that funding to replace aging, deteriorating bridge structures was still not fully in place, despite the risks they pose to motorists and commuters.
Dizon said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had ordered the DPWH to expedite the construction of stronger replacement bridges and additional crossings designed to ease traffic congestion and improve connectivity in Butuan, Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.
The Tagoloan Bridge, in particular, is a key link along the Butuan-Cagayan de Oro-Iligan Road, one of Northern Mindanao’s major transport corridors.
Government procurement records show that a permanent replacement project for the Tagoloan Bridge is already underway.
The DPWH chief stressed that roads and bridges should not simply be passable; they must be robust enough to weather extreme conditions and reliably sustain the vital transport corridors that the public depends on.
"In Benguet, that means combining Philippine engineering and maintenance work with Japanese expertise in rockfall protection. In Mindanao, it means accelerating funding and construction for bridges that have become critical links in the region’s road network," added Dizon.
