NORTH COTABATO, Philippines --- The P1.8-million repair of a footbridge in Kabacan town has been completed by the provincial government.
The footbridge is linking the riverside farming communities in Kabacan's adjoining barangays Simone and Pebpoloan, both in Kabacan municipality in the third district of the province.
Ondungan Sudang, chairman of Barangay Simone, said the footbridge will help farmers and ensure the safety of children that cross the river every day, after the old footbridge deteriorated.
Sudang said local officials, led by North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, opened the footbridge to public use last weekend in the presence of Moro and Christian peasants.
“We are very thankful to the office of our provincial governor for this project,†Sudang said in Filipino.
Sudang said the reconstruction of the footbridge also reconnected the trade links between Moro and non-Moro peasant groups in Barangays Simone and Pebpoloan.
Mendoza had also launched, along with the inauguration of the footbridge, a new two-classroom building at Pebpoloan Elementary School, built out of a P1.3 million grant from the governor’s office. - John Unson