Closer by 6.

8 kilometers

Tubigay, Baracbac, and Nagcullooban are inner barangays located in the mountainous part of Sinait,
Ilocos Sur. Similar to most of the Philippines, Barangays Tubigay, Baracbac, and Nagcullooban remain
rural and residents largely depend on agriculture for a living. The major commodities in the area include
rice, corn, mango, and vegetables.

For years, the residents in the barangays faced one common problem--transportation. The poor road
condition in the barangays had affected education, health, and livelihood of residents for generations
that when the news of the road rehabilitation came, they hardly believed it.

“Idi damdamag mi pay lang kasla awan ti panamati mi (When we were hearing news about the road
concreting, we did not believe it.),” said Rudimar Felipe, a resident of Barangay Baracbac who was later
hired as one of the workers for the FMR rehabilitation.

Residents used to walk from the town’s commercial center to get home. Ms. Lovelie Villegas of Brgy.
Tubigay remembers going to school as especially difficult because of the road condition, “Ti napadasak
met didtoy barangay mi Mam, siyak pay lang idi ti agbabasa Mam, kakaasi ak nga dumanon diay balay
mi no kasdiay nga adtudtudo. Agsangsangitak pay ah Mam ta nagrigat garud ti dalan mi. Nagrigat ti
kalsada.” (When I was a kid and still in school, my experience with traversing this road is… I was a pitiful
sight when going home during rainy season. I used to cry over the difficulty of traversing our road. It was
really difficult.)

Pregnant women do not even reach the hospital before delivering their babies because of the difficulty
in transportation. “Nalaklaka mi nga ipan diay ospitalen, ta awan ti health center mi pay. Datoy
naminsan ketdi pay Mam ket haan mi naidanun diay ospitalen, nanganaken diay dagi-dagin” ([When
the road will be concreted,] we can bring patients faster to the hospital. Our barangay is yet to have its
own health center. One time, we were not able to bring the patient to the hospital and she delivered the
baby along the way.), Romeo Tumbagay of Barangay Nagcullooban shared.

Farmer residents incur big postharvest losses due to the pot hole-filled and muddy road when
transporting their products to the market. According to Punong Barangay of Nagcullooban Reynaldo
Inggan, “Isu nga ti rigat ti dal-dalan idtoy, nakukuwa dagidiay proprodukto mi nu ipa-ili mi. Naperperdi.
Nu apan ka makitienda, mabmabtak idiay tiniendaan mi nga iitlog.” (Because of the difficulty in
transportation, our products get bruised when transported to the market. When you go to the market,
the eggs that you bought break on the way home.)

The 6.8-kilometer Rehabilitation of Tubigay-Baracbac-Nagculooban Farm to Market Road (FMR) in

Sinait, Ilocos Sur is the first infrastructure proposal of the Province of Ilocos Sur under the Philippine
Rural Development Project (PRDP). Before the PRDP, the FMR was a combination of gravel, earth, and
dilapidated concrete which made it difficult for farmers to transport their products and for residents to
go on with their everyday lives.

With a total project cost of Php76,605,873.81, the FMR was jointly funded by the World Bank (80%), the
Province of Ilocos Sur(10%), and the Department of Agriculture (10%). The FMR rehabilitation was
approved by the Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB) on January 28, 2018. On June 29, 2015, the
FMR subproject was issued with a No Objection Letter signaling the commencement of the
procurement. Construction works for the FMR subproject finally started on May 01, 2017 and finished
on October 15, 2020.

Today, the rehabilitation of the FMR brings relief to the residents. Transportation has become easier and
travel time has reduced significantly.

Mr. Herminio Ebi, a tricycle driver in Barangay Baracbac can now traverse the entire FMR stretch within
30 minutes, “Iti duwa nga oras kuma nga manipod diay Baracbac anggana diay ili, papaot ti
panagtataray mi no kastoy nga lubak-lubak. No nasementon, baka 30 minutes laeng siguron. No malpas
datoy nga kalsadan, 30 minutes makadanon kami diay ili. (With the pot hole-filled road during rainy
season, it would take us two hours from Baracbac to the market. When our road will be concreted, the
travelling time might be reduced to 30 minutes. When this road will be concreted, we will arrive at the
market within 30 minutes.)

Ms. Estrella Mangrubang from Barangay Nagcullooban thanked the PRDP for the FMR project and
expressed her hope for the opportunities that the FMR will bring, “Agyaman kami garud Apo kadagiti
tulong yo ta… Aglalo ti programa ti PRDP ta kaasi ni Apo Diyos, nauray mi ti pagsayaatan mi. Adu ti
mairaman kadaytoy ti pagsayaatan ti lugar mi maipanggep daytoy nga kalsada.” (We are very grateful
for your help…especially to the program of the PRDP because with God’s grace, this blessing has finally
arrived. A lot of things will improve in our area because of this road concreting.)

The market, school, and hospital just got closer to the residents of Barangays Tubugay, Baracbac, and
Nagcullooban by 6.8 kilometers with the completion of the FMR Project. #