The massive operation of the Oplan Kalsada Program has officially begun as the provincial government formally deployed the teams of heavy and light equipment operators to their respective assignments in the municipalities.

Provincial Administrator Maria Gracia “Ging-ging” Tiago, who represented Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon, led the send-off ceremony of the operators along with their equipment this afternoon at the Provincial Motorpool in Barangay Dahican, City of Mati, Davao Oriental.

Each team consists of a bulldozer, grader, backhoe, loader, dump truck, and road roller that will work on the road repair and rehabilitation in the hinterland barangays with roads in a desperately poor state.

The Oplan Kalsada Program is one of Governor Malanyaon’s anti-poverty initiatives supporting the province’s agriculture and tourism sectors.

Considering agriculture and tourism’s potential to provide income and uplift the lives of the marginalized sector, primarily farmers living in the hinterlands, the Governor resolved that there is an urgency to rehabilitate the roads in barangays and sitios leading to main towns and market centers.

“We have to improve their access to municipal centers to lower the cost of transporting people and products,” says Governor Malanyaon, adding that these roads are also crucial in transporting people, especially in emergencies and for students going to school.

Realizing the Governor’s determination and sincerity to improve the people’s lives, the operators committed to actively taking their part in the province’s development thrust to uplift the people’s lives and ultimately defeat poverty. By KLD-KPIO | Photos By Mark Oliver Alvite | Drone Shots by Eden Jhan Licayan