By Rod Asurin
PARACELIS, Mountain Province, Philippines — For residents of Barangay Anonat in Paracelis, Mountain Province, the newly completed P50-million Mulliang-Carupinan farm-to-market road (FMR) has eased long-standing difficulties in transporting farm products and accessing schools and government services.
“Dito sa aming lugar noong araw, mahirap ang buhay namin. Nahihirapan kaming ilabas ang mga produkto namin. Sobrang hirap po ang buhay namin noong wala pa pong daanan. Ngayong nagkaroon po kami ng daan, malaking tulong po sa amin,” said Rubi Ann Padilla, a resident of Sitio Mulliang in Anonat.
Padilla thanked the government for the project and hopes that more development projects would reach their community.
“Sobrang pasasalamat po namin sa government. Ngayon lang namin naranasan ito, kasi matagal nang walang kalsada at nahihirapan lalo na po mga kabataan na pumupunta sa school. Maraming salamat kay President Bongbong Marcos at sana madagdagan po ang project dito po sa lugar namin,” she said.
Funded under the 2025 Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) Program of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), the Mulliang-Carupian project was implemented by the local government unit of Paracelis.
OPAPRU Secretary Mel Senen S. Sarmiento recently led the inauguration of this completed FMR, and the groundbreaking of two FMR projects in Paracelis worth P95 million.
These projects are the P80-million Improvement of the Cauayan-Bagabag-Buringal Proper FMR Phase 1 in Barangay Buringal and the P15-million Construction of the Pandan-Marallag FMR Phase 1 in Barangay Bacarri.
The new roads are expected to help farmers transport their produce and improve residents’ access to schools, government services, and other essential facilities.
In Buringal, residents said the new road project could similarly address long-standing transportation difficulties.
“Palalo ti rigat mi gapu iti kaawan iti kalsada. Manipud kinaubing ko inggana tadta nga nagsenior nak, talaga nga nariknak ti kinarigat mi ditoy gapu iti kinaawan ti kalsada,” said Paquito Balicnog, a resident of Barangay Buringal. (Our hardships are extreme due to the lack of a road. From my childhood until now that I have become a senior citizen, I have truly felt our struggles here because of the absence of road.)
Balicnog said the community produces coffee, corn, bananas and coconuts, but poor road conditions make it difficult to transport their products.
“Ammuyu met ti produkto mi ditoy—kape, mais, saba ken inyog ngem gapu iti kinarigat ti dalan, haan mi ngay nga mailuslusot dagitoy nga produkto mi ta awan ti napintas nga dalan mi, sunga agyaman kami unay ta adda daytoy nga proyekto,” he said. (Our products here are coffee, corn, banana, and coconut. But because of the difficult road conditions, we cannot easily transport our goods out. That is why we are very thankful for this project.)
Paracelis Mayor Marcos G. Ayangwa thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and OPAPRU for the infrastructure projects.
He emphasized that ‘these farm-to-market roads are more than just infrastructure, as they will provide easier access for farmers to bring their produce to the market, ensure safe travel for students, and connect isolated communities to essential government services.’
Sarmiento, meanwhile, reaffirmed the national government’s commitment to bringing the dividends of peace to geographically isolated communities through development projects.
The Paracelis projects formed part of the P657M in PAMANA allocations for the nine municipalities of Mountain Province this 2026.
The province-wide project turnover and groundbreaking activities coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Cordillera “Sipat” Peace Accord. (JDP/RGA-PIA CAR with reports from LGU Paracelis)
