PEÑARANDA, Nueva Ecija – Two bridges were formally opened to benefit residents and farmers in several villages in this municipality on Tuesday.
Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones led the inauguration of San Mariano-Barrio Militar and Diwalaan Bridges.
San Mariano-Barrio Militar Bridge is a 40.20- linear meter bridge located in Barangay San Mariano that connects this municipality to Palayan City, the capital of Nueva Ecija.
On the other hand, Diwalaan Bridge in the boundaries of Barangays Las Piñas and Sinasajan spans 17.20 linear meters, records showed.
Castriciones said the bridges were constructed in collaboration among the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the local government unit under the Tulay ng Pangulo Program to support agrarian reform beneficiaries.
The completed projects have a combined cost of PHP14.11-million financed through the foreign-assisted projects, he added.
The DPWH, Castriciones explained, was the implementing agency while the Peñaranda local government will take care of the bridges’ sustainability, operation, and maintenance.
The provincial agrarian reform office said that about 566 agrarian reform beneficiaries tending some 1,621 hectares of government-distributed lands will benefit from the projects.
The bridges are also projected to uplift the economic well-being of at least 8,747 residents from the villages of San Mariano, Las Piñas, and Sinasajan aside from regular commuters going back and forth to Palayan City and neighboring places.
“While the pandemic forces us to keep distance from each other, these bridges bring us closer,” Castriciones said in an interview as he underscored the undisputed role played by farmers and other agriculture stakeholders to keep food on every table during the health crisis.
Castriciones and some of his undersecretaries were joined by Nueva Ecija 4th District Rep. Maricel Nagaño, Palayan City Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas, and Peñaranda officials led by Vice Mayor Ofelia Manayao during the inauguration
Source: Philippines News Agency
