SMI repairs road for Tampakan indigenous people
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Wed, 02 Oct 2019 17:27:08 +0000
SAGITTARIUS Mines Inc. (SMI) completed the repairs of 6.7-kilometer Barangay Danlag Road in Tampakan, South Cotabato that will provide residents, especially the Indigenous People (IP), better access and shorter travel to adjacent barangay (villages).
The P62-million Danlag Road rehabilitation project covered the areas approaching the Danlag Elementary School up to the Campo Singko junction.
SMI said the road was regraded and made wider with an average width of 4 meters, provided with canals and gabions for flood and soil protection, and sheeted with gravel. Excavated areas were also rehabilitated with coco mats and vegetation.
An ongoing additional 10.7-kilometer road rehabilitation leading to sitio Datal Mangisi and S’bangari, in Barangay Tablu, also in Tampakan, amounting to P41 million, brought the total project cost of the rehabilitation program to P103 million, SMI said.
SMI started the rehabilitation works in late 2018 after both the barangay (village) council of Danlag headed by Judith Magbanua and the Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICC) of Danleg headed by Tribal Chieftain Dalena
Samling and other tribal communities in Tampakan requested SMI to fund the repairs of the barangay roads.
Portion of the road rehabilitation project was sourced from SMI’s Social Development and Management Program (SDMP). Community infrastructure development and support service is one of the major pillars of SDMP.
According to SMI, the road rehabilitation will create multiplier effects through much-needed employment for the residents of the neighboring communities and the host barangay.