“Pigaran taon tayon idadasal ya nagawa la yan taytay. Sa awa ng Diyos, agamuran ti met la.” (We have been praying for the construction of this bridge for many years. In God’s grace, we finally got it.) Manaoag Mayor Mikael Kim Amador exclaimed during the inauguration of the Oraan Bridge – a Php20,575,036.07 infrastructure subproject under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) – on 12 December 2018.

The Municipal Government of Manaoag proposed for the construction of the Oraan Bridge on 17 November 2015. During the subproject’s presentation before the Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB), the transportation difficulties and struggle of the residents of barangays Cabanbanan, Mermer, Lelemaan, Oraan East, and Oraan West especially during rainy season were highlighted.

“Nanipud idi naikamang ak ditoy barangay Oraan East, ti taytay mi idi dati nababa pay. Nga nu agtodo, malayos. Ket nu malayusen, adayo ti paglikawan mi nga magna. Aglikaw kami ti Lelemaan wen nu Mermer. Isunga mabayag ti biyahe.”  (Ever since I lived with my husband here at Oraan East, our bridge had been the low lying one. When it rains hard, flood waters rise. When the old Oraan bridge gets flooded, we need to take a farther route. We would pass through Barangay Lelemaan or Mermer. That’s why our trip takes longer time.” Estrellita Lacaste who is a resident of Oraan East shared to the PRDP.

The Municipality obtained the No Objection Letter (NOL) for the construction of the bridge on 22 July 2016. However, the construction of the bridge only commenced on 05 May 2017. The construction of the bridge took 383 working days and was finished on October 26, 2018.

Before the PRDP, the Oraan Bridge consists of a two-barrel Reinforced Concrete Box Culvert (RCBC) located at the intersection of Barangays Oraan East, Oraan West, Mermer, Lelemaan, and Cabanbanan. The height of the RCBC was much lower than the existing road networks and as such was vulnerable to flood waters. With the PRDP intervention, the RCBC is now transformed into the Oraan Bridge measuring 5-meter concreted pavement in width, 21 linear meters in length with 275-meter approaches.

Rebecca S. Castillo, resident of Barangay Oraan East, said “Agay-ayat kami nga taga-Oraan East idi maamuan mi nga masemento idiay nga rangtay. Ta siyempre maragsakan kami unay ta napintasen ti pagnaan mi nga taga-Oraan East, aglalo kiniya mi ditoy ta agliblibbed kami pay magmagna idiay Lelemaan. Uray nu adalem ti danum, ket kayat mi ti agpalengke, magna kami idiay San Ramon tapno makaruwar kami laeng.” (We, the residents of Oraan East, are thankful when we learned that the bridge will be fixed and concreted. We are thankful because there will be better transportation for us residents of Oraan East, especially for us who take a farther route that is Lelemaan. Now even if flood waters are high and we want to take a trip to the market, we will not need to take the farther route through San Ramon.

“The challenge for the people of Oraan and the populace of Manaoag in Pangasinan is the operations and maintenance of the Oraan Bridge. Although the Municipal Government of Manaoag and our barangay officials are here to help in the operations and maintenance of our bridge, the residents and the people of Manaoag will be the ultimate steward of the Oraan Bridge,” I-SUPPORT Component Head Sharon A. Viloria said during her message on behalf of RPCO 1 Project Director Lucrecio R. Alviar Jr. Ms. Viloria also announced that the Municipality of Manaoag, Pangasinan is a being vied to be visited in the next World Bank Implementation Support Mission which will be hosted by Region 1.

During the inauguration, the Municipality of Manaoag expressed its interest to propose another infrastructure subproject under the PRDP. “We still have funds for infrastructure in PRDP. It is, however, in the LGU’s hands on how to expedite the preparation of the infrastructure project.” Luzon A Deputy Project Director Elma S. Mananes responded to the Municipality of Manaoag.

The Municipality of Manaoag has completed two infrastructure subprojects under the PRDP. Its first completed infrastructure project is the Municipal Warehouse with Multi-Purpose Drying Pavement worth Php10.4 million. (Ilocos InfoACE)

Manaoag Mayor Kim Mikael Amador (first from right, seated) and the punong barangays of the rural influence areas sign a commitment agreement for the operations and maintenance of the Oraan Bridge.