Philippines, Japan join hands to strengthen mountain road resilience
By Trixee Rosel
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have committed to work together to improve the resilience of mountainous roads in the Philippines.
DPWH Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain said their partnership withJICA in the ongoing Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) for Road Disaster Prevention and Other Countermeasures on Mountainous Road is set to deliver tangible results in developing innovative solutions suitable for the unique challenges posed by mountainous terrain in the Philippines, particularly in the pilot regions of the Cordillera Administrative Region, Region VII, and XI.
The TCP has been focusing on countermeasure operations, emergency response, hazard maps, and management of road disaster information.
It includes a range of deliverable manuals, such as the survey, analysis, monitoring manual and permanent countermeasure manual, slope disaster emergency response manual, hazard evaluation manual, and road disaster information system and manual.
Several activities include topographic and geologic surveys at selected pilot sites, workshops focusing on survey techniques, analysis, design, and supervision, geohazard mapping exercises, and capacity-building programs and knowledge-sharing initiatives in Japan to enhance the management and response to road disasters in mountainous regions.
“By combining Japanese best practices with actual local conditions, the project aims to strengthen the Philippines' ability to mitigate the impact of natural hazards on its road networks, ensuring safer and more resilient infrastructure across the country under the “Bagong Pilipinas,” said Sadain.
The project highlights Japan's dedication to assisting the Philippines in improving its infrastructure resilience and disaster preparedness efforts, with the valuable assistance of the JICA expert team.