THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Thursday that it recently signed an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to cooperate in road disaster prevention and other measures to increase safety on the Philippines鈥 mountain roads.
The goal is to 鈥渆nhance capability on implementation of permanent countermeasure works for slope disaster, emergency response, hazard map development, and road disaster information management based on a road disaster information system,鈥 the DPWH said in a statement.
鈥淎ppropriate road disaster countermeasures against landslides, debris flow, and rock collapse are necessary due to yearly occurrence of strong typhoons and earthquakes, which render many roads impassable,鈥 it added.
Public Works Secretary Roger G. Mercado and JICA Philippines Office Chief聽Representative Takema聽Sakamoto signed on May聽18 the 鈥渞ecord of discussions鈥 to formally start a technical cooperation program on road disaster prevention and other countermeasures on mountain roads.
鈥淭he signed record of discussions establishes a mutual agreement for implementation of detailed plan for the project,鈥 the department said.
Mr. Mercado noted that with the willingness of Japanese experts to share their technology on landslides and other forms of road disaster mitigation, the department鈥檚 engineers will be able to apply the 鈥渂est methodology鈥 available to improve safety.
The department said the technical cooperation with JICA will run for three and a half years, with pilot sites in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Regions 7 and 11.聽 鈥 Arjay L. Balinbin
