More than half of Bohol’s over 800-kilometer long provincial roads remained unpaved with cement or asphalt, said an official of the Provincial Engineering Office (PEO).

“Wa pa g’yud ta makatunga, daghan pa g’yud ang mga gravel roads, naa pa gani uban hilit nga dapit, wa pa g’yud, purely earth road pa nga kalsada,” said PEO officer-in-charge Engr. Camilo Gasatan.

This was ascribed by Gasatan to limited budget allocation from the province in the past years.

He said that there have been large road segments paved with cement or asphalt but these were funded through budget from the Philippine Rural Development Project and Conditional Matching Grant to Provinces (CMGP) program.

“Tagsa ra g’yud ta makapa-semento og whole street kanang dinaghan kay limited raman pod atong budget sa probinsya, gawas atong mga funded sa CMGP, PRDP ug sa mga outsource nato kay dinagko man to whole street manang ilang gi-fundingan, pareha’s farm-to-market road,” he said.

However, the PEO official said that the province ramped up spending for road construction in 2019.

According to Gasatan, a P404-million budget was allocated by the province for road projects this year with an estimated P15 million earmarked for each kilometer.

The total allocation is 32 percent higher than the budget for 2018 at P273 million and 50.4 percent higher than the budget for 2017 at P200 million.

Gasatan noted that the PEO has focused its work on heavily used roads, or pre-selected segments dubbed “core roads” of the province.

“Kung unsa tong mga karsadang perteng daghana manggamit sa publiko, sa mga sakyanan maoy atimanon og una. Pero dili na magpasabot na dili ta mo atiman sa ubang karsada,” he said.

The PEO has also prioritized the construction of roads leading to the province’s attractions to provide convenience to tourists. (Allen Doydora)