Carcar's old trees, houses to be spared from road widening

CEBU, Philippines - The century-old trees and ancestral houses along the 20-kilometer road from Naga City to Carcar City will not be affected as there will be no road widening in the area, according to Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas of the first district.

“Cut trees? No way. We will not allow any destruction of the houses there, they are priceless,” Gullas told reporters. The press conference was attended by Mayor Valdemar Chiong of Naga City, Mayor Nicepuro Apura of Carcar City and the Department of Public Works and Highways regional officials.

The trees that motorists see traveling south were planted in 1915 by the personnel of the Bureau of Public Works, the DPWH’s predecessor.

The DPWH plans to widen the two-lane road to four lanes, which has a P27-million budget, to accommodate the increasing volume of traffic in their area.A check with the General Appropriations Act of 2010 shows a P27-million outlay for the widening and removal of obstruction encroachment within the road right of way from the Naga to Carcar section.

The proposed road-widening project will end near a mall in Carcar City. But Gullas instructed the DPWH that the road widening in the area should bypass Barangay Villadolid to Carcar City proper.

However, he said that the proposal still has a long way to go since the DPWH will have to conduct feasibility study.

“Dugay pa ni mahitabo,” Gullas added. — (FREEMAN)