The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) convoy of vehicles carrying many of the participants to the MinDA Tienda in Manila reached Metro Manila shortly before midnight yesterday.
We almost did not make it because the 9-feet-deep floods in Lopez town, Quezon closed the Maharlika Highway to traffic stranding close to a thousand vehicles, including cargo trucks and cars.
Arriving in Calauag town, just before Lopez town, we saw long lines of trucks and other vehicles and we were told that it would take two to three days for the floodwaters to subside.
We were told that this was not the first time that floods cut off the highway which led me to wonder why and how this could be overlooked by authorities.
Given the history of the floods in the area and the importance of the Maharlika Highway in bringing goods from Mindanao, Visayas and Bicol to Metro Manila, why was there no attempt to build a diversion?
Let us leave that question for another day and hope that our infrastructure planners will take note of this problem.
Faced with the grim scenario of being stuck in Calauag for three days while Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso and the people of Manila wait for the goods from Mindanao for the MinDA Tienda in Manila, we thought of ways to get across.
Our only options were to wait for three days, which was out of the question since the MinDA Tienda will open tomorrow afternoon, or backtrack and find a way to reach Manila either by cargo plane or ferry boat.
Guided by the spirit of “Kung Gusto Maraming Paraan,” I instructed my staff, Argie Legarto, to coordinate with the Police Station of Calauag to find a way to get through the other side.
Police Maj. Lawrence Evangelista, Chief of Police of Calauag Police Station, volunteered that there is a backroad through the Bondoc Mountain Range passing through the isolated town of Guinayangan, Quezon.
The route, however, would take us about 2-3 hours more and, judging by the way the police escorts held their M-4s with trigger fingers ready, risky as well because of the presence of the New People’s Army.
Police escorts from Calauag led us to the town of Guinayangan, after which other teams escorted us to Biuenavista, Lopez, Gumaca and on to the boundary of Quezon and Laguna.
We went through successfully with much difficulty arriving in Manila six hours behind schedule.
Our only concern now is how the reefer van and the wing van trucks carrying many of the products to be displayed tomorrow could get through Lopez where by now, thousands of vehicles are parked along the highway waiting for the floods to subside.
Thinking positively, I believe things will turn out right for us.
After all, I embrace that statement of faith which says: “Just do your best and God will take care of the rest.”
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#LetsClimbOneMoreMountain!
#LetsCrossOneMoreRiver!
#LetsWalkAnExtraKilometer!
#LetsChaseOneMoreDream!
#LetsDoThisForTheFarmers!
(Photos by the MinDA Media Team while the Google map showing the cut-off portion of the Maharlika Highway was downloaded by my son, Imman, who joined me in this trip.)
More Stories
Trump Presidency Boon To Philippine Agriculture
Mindanao Fruit Fest Scheduled Sept. 2025
DA, MinDA, LGU! MinDA Targets Tribal Areas For Highland Rice Farming