Regional directors of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Mindanao vowed Monday to complete the so-called SONA projects on schedule while the government hammers out a new peace deal in the region.

The projects refer to the infrastructure programs envisioned by President Arroyo in her previous State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Osop Ali, DPWH Region 11 director, said infrastructure bring peace and progress in war-torn areas. “Roads open up war-torn areas to commerce and lessen discontent by the poor and underprivileged people in Mindanao,” he said.

“It also gives way to an open communication between the government and the various rebel groups who are working out for possible peace talks,” he said.

Ali and other regional directors in Mindanao are keen to finish these projects by next month not only for such purpose but also to develop the southern part of the country into a center for agro-industrial business, trade and tourism.

He said the SONA projects in the Davao region include the P1.7-billion Surigao-Davao Coastal Road and the P1.5-billion Kapalong-Talaingod-Valencia Road.

Ali said the Kapalong-Talaingod-Valencia Road will cut travel time between the two key agricultural provinces of Bukidnon and Davao by up to an hour’s time, boosting the banana and pineapple export businesses in the areas considered as Mindanao’s “Food Basket.”

Meanwhile, a DPWH flood expert said low-lying areas of Valenzuela, Obando and Meycauayan, Bulacan (VOM) will continue to be submerged in heavy floods even as the water level subsides in the neighboring areas of Caloocan, Malabon and Navotas.

“VOM areas will continue to suffer perennial knee- and chest-high flooding due to high tide and strong rains, until such time that we construct flood-control facilities there,” said Carla Bartolo, flood control project director of the DPWH office in the Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela (Camanava) region. km flood-prone areas in Valenzuela and Bulacan.

Reports from the Department of Agriculture showed that Bulacan’s rice and crops were among the P3.2-billion agricultural produce that were destroyed by recent typhoons. Also affected were the industrial firms in Valenzuela.

“Thus, we recommend the immediate construction of the second phase of the Camanava Flood-Control Project to stop perennial floodings in Valenzuela and Bulacan,” Bartolo said.

According to Bartolo, the proposed second phase of the Flood-Control Project will reduce flooding in about 21-sq km flood-prone areas in Valenzuela and Bulacan.