DAVAO CITY – Four days since the earthquake struck Sarangani, the highway going to the earthquake-devastated town of Glan is now open to traffic that hastened the delivery of relief aid and emergency response interventions to affected communities.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region-12 chief Loreto Cabaya Jr. said on Thursday morning, June 11, that an additional four truckloads of relief aid have been delivered to Glan after the damaged portion of the highway in Barangay Kapatan has been cleared.

The DSWD-12 is putting up a temporary field coordination hub and deployment of ground situation checking equipment from the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-12 and Office of Civil Defense.

Cabaya said several portable water filtration systems have been deployed in Glan to ensure clean drinking water for affected residents.

The Office of Civil Defense in Region 12 on Thursday announced the road is passable to all types of vehicles.

A portion of the national highway linking Glan to neighboring municipality of Malapatan, also part of Sarangani, was impassable due to severely damaged pavement due to the magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck Monday.

For three days, the Department of Public Works and Highways conducted day and night clearing operations to remove crumbled blocks of pavement. As a result, government responders delivered aid and rescuers to Glan using boats and helicopters.

Cabaya admitted that Glan was the most difficult earthquake-hit area to reach in the first three days due to the severity of damage on its road network.

Since Tuesday, relief aid was transported from General Santos City and Malapatan using boats from the Philippine Coast Guard and private sea vessels.

Office of Civil Defense Region-12 chief Rodrigo Sosmeña said that Glan is the most affected town in Sarangani in terms of fatalities and damage to infrastructure.

Of the seven municipalities of Sarangani, Glan is the most heavily devastated town area in Sarangani due to its proximity to the offshore epicenter of the earthquake 33 kilometers west of Maasim. Twelve of the 20 fatalities in the province are from Glan.

The town’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office reported that at least 110,000 individuals have been affected by the earthquake. Most of those affected were from 21 out of 31 barangays.

Glan Vice Mayor James Yap said that relief aid for the isolated barangays due to landslides will be transported using Philippine Air Force helicopters. Yap said that the local government is issuing coupons to the villagers to avoid duplication of relief aid. He assured that all affected residents will receive enough relief assistance.