Lawmakers inspect nautical highway
TACLOBAN CITY — A member of the House of Representatives in Eastern Visayas was bullish on the country’s transportation network after inspection of the Western and Eastern Nautical Highway.
An Waray Party-list Representative Victoria Noel lauded her colleagues for joining the 10-day Western and Eastern Nautical Highway Expedition.
“I am optimistic that the House of Representatives will be able to deter- mine the kind of support needed by potential and existing infrastructure projects of the national government,” Noel said on Monday.
She hosted the welcome event for the House of Representatives members who joined the inspection tour when the group arrived in this city on Sunday.
Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, who led the delegation, bragged that “present members of the House of Representatives are all hard working as they were already on the road a day after they went on recess.”
The Tacloban stop was the 10th day of the expedition, Fariñas said.
The team is composed of Senior Deputy Majority Floor Leader Juan Pablo Bondoc; transportation committee chairman Cesar Sarmiento; public works and highways chairman Celso Lobregat; and Representatives Johnny Pimentel, Divine Grace Yu, Manuel Dalipe, Arnolfo Teves Jr., Henry Oaminal, Aurelio Gonzales, Lawrence Furton, Strike Revilla, Henry Fernandez and Alfonso Umali.
The Eastern Visayas officials who welcomed them were Representatives Ben Evardone (Eastern Samar), Edgar Sarmiento (Samar 1st), Milagrosa Tan (Samar 2nd), Roger Mercado (Southern Leyte), Vicente Veloso (Leyte 3rd), and Henry Ong (Leyte 2nd).
In an interview, Fariñas said that “roads and roll-on roll-off (RoRo) ports are generally in good condition.”
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez was present in almost all days of the expedition.
The legislators drove to Batangas, took a RoRo to Caticlan, moved to Kalibo and to Iloilo. They slept overnight in Bacolod and drove to Dumaguete City.
Afterwards, the group took another RoRo to Dapitan, went to Zamboanga del Sur, then to Lanao del Norte, and drove to Cagayan de Oro. They spent two nights in Bukidnon before heading to Tagum and Davao City. The group spent their last day in Eastern Visayas and Bicol region, driving by land and taking RoRo trips that connect Visayas and Mindanao. (PNA)