CALAPAN CITY, Philippines – Farmers and rice traders were advised against using national roads to dry their produce, particularly palay.
Oriental Mindoro First Engineering District chief Efren Padilla said Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson issued a directive, wherein he noted that farmers are taking advantage of the good weather to dry palay or corn on national highways and had been cordoning off certain sections of the road.
Singson said farmers also put barriers on national highways to protect their palay from being overrun by vehicles. “The presence of big stones or boulders poses danger to motorists,†Singson said.
He said tricycles and motorcycles are also using the center lanes of national roads, hampering the flow of traffic and posing danger to motorists, especially at night.
“If they want to use the national roads, they should use the outer lanes to prevent accidents from happening,†he said.
Singson called on local government executives and the police to strictly enforce no parking and encroachment orders on national roads, particularly near market areas.
“We are experiencing heavy traffic on the approaches of these market areas or town centers because of the presence of tricycle terminals or parking areas encroaching on national roads,†Singson said.
Singson said the Department of Public Works and Highways has widened and improved the McArthur Highway or Manila North Road going to Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley Road going to Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela, and the Manila South Road or Daang Maharlika going to Bicol and other national arterial roads in the country.