VILLAVICIOSA, Abra (PIA) – Farmers in the remote barangay of Tamac in the municipality of Villaviciosa can now easily transport their produce to the market and travel faster and safer with the opening of a farm-to-market road (FMR) on April 23, 2025.
The concreting of the Pogpogok to Bas-ang farm to market road was funded with P5-million under the 2024 Support to Barangay Development Program (SBDP) of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed-Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
Said FMR is the first SBDP project to be completed and inaugurated in the Cordillera Region.
The ribbon cutting ceremony and blessing was led by representatives of member-agencies of the Provincial Task Force-ELCAC, Villaviciosa Mayor Jose Lagen and Vice-Mayor Marjorie Lagen, and Tamac barangay officials.
“Wen agpaysu nga ditoy ayan tayo ditoy Tamac idi ket nakalublubo, puro pitak, nagrigat ti dumanon ditoy aglalo nu agtudo. Nasayaat tatta ta nain-inotanen ti kalsada ditoy ta adda manen inted ti ELCAC,” the mayor said.
[Yes, it is true that our barangay before was muddy; it was difficult to come here, especially when it rains. It’s good that the roads here are gradually improving with this new project from ELCAC.]
Barangay Tamac is more than 60 kilometers away from the capital town of Bangued. It takes more than three hours of travel for jeepneys and around two hours for private vehicles.
The barangay was relocated due to mudslide that hit the old site affecting hundreds of residents during Typhoon Ineng in 2015.
Lagen Jr. recalled the time Tamac was newly relocated where transportation and access were challenging due to muddy roads.
Tamac Punong Barangay Ike P. Escobar assured that through his leadership, the residents will take good care of the access road. Likewise, he thanked the national government for heeding to the needs of their barangay.
“Uray adayo ditoy barangay mi, agyaman kami ta immay yo indanun daytoy a proyekto kadagiti taga-Tamac. Agyaman kami ti programa nga ELCAC ket gapu deta saan kamin a marigatan a dumalan aglalo nu nalubo,” Kap Escobas stated.
[Despite of the remoteness of our barangay, we thank you because you brought this project for the Tamac residents. We thank the ELCAC program because now, it is no longer difficult for us to pass that access road, because before it’s muddy.]
DILG Provincial Director Kristoffer Dave Alvarez re-introduced the ‘whole-of-nation’ framework of the NTF-ELCAC to the local community, and congratulated LGU Villaviciosa for fast and proper implementation of the project.
“Allow us to congratulate the Local Government Unit of Villaviciosa as the implementing body of the project. Villaviciosa is recognized as the first to inaugurate region-wide an SBDP additional P5 million budget,” Alvarez said.
A two-storey health station funded under SBDP with counterpart from LGU was also inaugurated in this town on February 7, 2025. (JDP/CAGT-PIA CAR, Abra)
