Municipality of Tubod, Lanao del Norte
November 28, 2018

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte led the groundbreaking ceremony at the Approach Road to the Panguil Bay Bridge (PBB) project in Barangay Sagadan, Municipality of Tubod in Lanao del Norte.

Projected to cost about PhP 7.8 billion and financed by the Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund, the Panguil Bay Bridge project is expected to run at 3.7 kilometers that would connect Tangub City in Misamis Occidental and the Municipality of Tubod, Lanao del Norte in Northern Mindanao.

“Now this road here, historically, I know a lady sa other side in Cagayan. She said that in order for them to get to Ozamiz, they have to travel by sea and it takes hours. Now it’s about two to two and a half,” President Duterte said.

“But with the — maybe, Insha’Allah. Mga 2021 by the time this gets done, it cuts the travel by 20 minutes and make it easier for you to start whatever kind of business in this area,” the President added.

Once completed, the PBB project would drastically cut travel time from two and a half hours down to a mere seven minutes between Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental that would also benefit the provinces under the Northern Mindanao Development Corridor (NMDC) comprising Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Bukidnon, Camiguin, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Agusan del Norte, and Surigao del Norte.

President Duterte also thanked the government of Korea for funding the project and other initiatives in support to the administration’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ project.

“So we are trying to build a nation. This is a huge amount of money. And we should thank the Republic of Korea. This is theirs. They gave it as a gift. And they will give even more,” he said.

Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Han Dong-man, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Lanao del Norte District 2 Representative Abdullah Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte District 1 Representative Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte Governor Imelda Dimaporo, and Tubod Municipal Mayor Leoncio Bagol joined the President during the ceremonial capsule-laying.

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