EDC starts road restoration in Valencia, Negros Oriental

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines –  The Energy Development Corporation has started the restoration of the road that slipped and went down near the Ticala Creek in Barangay Caidiocan, Valencia town in Negros Oriental last week.

Dwight Maxino, EDC vice president for Southern and Northern Negros Geothermal Projects, said in a media release Wednesday the company had begun the restoration after finalizing its recovery plan for the area.

Removal of saturated soils under the road base was completed on October 12 while slope clearing and hauling of big boulders were completed two days after, said Maxino.

Backfilling was completed and the restored portion of the collapsed road has been declared passable as of 11 a.m. Thursday after it was cleared by EDC's geohazard experts, he said, adding that the road works are expected to be finished in three and a half months.

The damaged road is the main access to the geothermal power plants in the mountains of Valencia. About 700 meters of it caved in after the ground under it loosened due to at least a week of continuous rains.

Authorities declared the road impassable due to the unstable ground movement immediately after that portion of the road collapsed.

No one was reported hurt in that incident although residents nearby were immediately alerted to evacuate anytime when necessary.

Caidiocan Barangay Chairman Antonio Tuting, who lives nearby, said he had witnessed the road slowly going down until it broke off while other landslips were also reported in the area on the same day.

Meanwhile, EDC could not confirm a supposed road slip in Barangay Cantiso, also in Valencia, as reported by some concerned citizens on the social networking site, Facebook. The company however has yet to receive an official report on the matter.