After three years of rigor and hard work, the Ilocos Norte Provincial Project Management and Implementation Unit (PPMIU) is ready to construct the Rehabilitation of the Billoca-San Juan Farm to Market Road and Eight Bridges traversing the Municipality of Sarrat and Batac City, Ilocos Norte.

Department of Agriculture RFO-1 Regional Executive Director Lucrecio R. Alviar, together with Ilocos Norte Governor Imee R. Marcos, spearheaded the groundbreaking of the 12-kilometer road and eight bridges held at Barangay Rayuray, Batac City, Ilocos Norte on September 8, 2017. Top executives from Batac City and Municipality of Sarrat also attended the activity, including: Batac City Mayor Albert Chua, Batac City Vice Mayor Jeoffrey Jubal Nalupta, and Municipality of Sarrat Mayor Remegio Medrano. Vice Governor Angelo Marcos Barba also graced the ceremony.

The inauguration of the FMR and bridges is a big event for the Ilocos Norte PPMIU and the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) in Ilocos Region. As of date, it is the biggest implemented infrastructure subproject in terms of cost in Ilocos Region. It has a total investment cost of P170,327,000. Likewise, it is also the longest in terms of length in kilometers for the FMR and in linear meters for the bridges.

The FMR has a total length of 12.16 kilometers and the eight bridges total to 79 linear meters (San Juan de Noto=8 lineal meters, Bulisising=12 linear  meters, Caoayan=8 linear meters, Rayuray=6 linear meters, Camandingan1= 6 linear meters, Camandingan 2=18 linear meters, San Pedro= 6 linear meters, and Pandan=15 linear meters). The infrastructure subproject will directly benefit the barangays of Billoca, Baoa West, Camandingan, Dariwdiw, Nagbacalan, Rayuray, San Juan, and San Pedro in Batac City and Municipality of Sarrat in Ilocos Norte.

Technically, the FMR, San Juan de Noto Bridge, Bulisising Bridge, San Pedro Bridge, and Pandan Bridge are the only segments which will commence with the construction. The Caoayan Bridge, Rayuray Bridge, Camandingan1 and 2 Bridges will undergo re-procurement and is expected to commence with implementation in the succeeding months.

The FMR and bridges are proposed by the Province of Ilocos Norte to support the mango commodity in the province.  The Province of Ilocos Norte is second to Pangasinan in Ilocos Region in the volume of production of mangoes. Ilocos Norte produced 21,590 metric tons of carabao mangoes in 2016 and is the seventh top producing province of carabao mangoes in the country.

The Province of Ilocos Norte is taking the lead in PRDP implementation in Region 1 with 14 infrastructure subprojects worth P615 million awaiting full implementation. (Dessa Estrada, RPCO1 InfoACE Unit)