By JUNE S. BLANCO | October 4, 2009

GOV. Erico Aumentado has secured the initial release of P23 million for two major Bohol Tourism Road Improvement Projects (Bohol TRIPs), and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) administrative order converting the Sagbayan-Danao Road into a national highway.

Aumentado secured the multi-million windfall for Bohol after two meetings with Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. who ordered the immediate release of P15 million for the Sagbayan-Danao Road, and an initial P8 million for the Ubay New Access Road from the Bohol Circumferential Road Project to the Ubay Port – Bohol’s gateway to Metro Manila and northeastern Mindanao under President Arroyo’s Strong Republic Nautical Highway.

Ebdane also released to Aumentado his Department Administrative Order converting the vital Sagbayan-Danao Road into a national highway.

The secretary assured the governor that he will similarly issue in due time the administrative order converting the Balilihan-Janopol-Batuan Provincial Road, the Guindulman-Anda-Cogtong-Candijay-Mabini-Ubay Provincial Road as well as the Baclayon Bypass into national highways.

The conversion of the aforecited highways will relieve the provincial government of the road maintenance and improvement thereon because the responsibility will now be undertaken by the national government.

The Ebdane action on the road conversions from provincial to national would render moot the various bills filed by Congressmen Edgar Chatto, Roberto Cajes and Adam Relson Jala still now pending in the Senate after these hurdled the House of Representatives.

The initial release for the highway access road to the Ubay Port will pass through the Alturas property.

From its terminal, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will likewise construct an extension of the Ubay Port passing through the Alturas reclamation.

This new facility will prevent the dangers of accidents and traffic gridlocks in the present narrow and congested Ubay Port Access Road passing around the Ubay Public Market.

The Sagbayan-Danao Road has an additional outlay of P15 million while the access road to the Ubay Port has P16 million, all allocated under the 2010 DPWH budget.

Once completed, the Sagbayan-Danao eco, educational and adventure tourism corridor is expected to enhance the influx of tourists to these towns. In a related news, PPA General Manager Oscar Sevilla informed Aumentado that his request for the extension of the new highway access road to the Ubay Port and Phase 2 of the port development will commence as soon as the project implementation is awarded to the winning bidder