SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur—An Australian-assisted  program  on developing  local  road network  infrastructure has tapped village-based women’s groups  here to participate in maintaining and rehabilitating their access road to push countryside economic activities.

At least 300 women representing three organizations in Barangays Pisaan, Tagapua and Borbon, all barangays in this town, participated in a workshop to map out their contributions for road maintenance and rehabilitation in their respective barangays.

The one-day activity which was held Thursday last week at Tagapua, one of San Francisco’s rice-producing barangays, was initiated by the Philippines Provincial Road Management Facility (PPRMF), a five-year development initiative of the Philippines and Australia which started in 2009.

Oibone Enobio, PPRMF communications officer, said the PPRMF’s P24.6-million rehabilitation of the Pisaan-Bonbon road project in San Francisco was completed in January 2011. She said it is a 6.1- kilometer provincial gravel road that connects Barangays Pisaan, Tagapua and Borbon.

She said that the PRMF aims to boost the local economy by improving roads so more people have better access to rehabilitated and maintained road networks, economic activity and public infrastructure and services that will improve their livelihoods.

The road network, however, was destroyed by flashflood caused by continuous heavy rains that hit Agusan del Sur last December. A low-lying road that connects Pisaan, Tagapua and Borbon was washed out by floodwaters.

Tagapua Barangay Chairman Jerry Parcon said the provincial engineering office (PEO) would soon implement road repair and concreting project in the area’s destroyed by flood. He said the road concreting would start from Pisaan to Tagapua.

Ever Abosolo, Agusan del Sur’s PPRMF coordinator, said the provincial government under Gov. Adolph Edward Plaza’s leadership is very supportive of their rehabilitation project in the locality.

Abosolo said the PPRMF has tapped barangay women organizations in order to empower them in supporting road rehabilitation projects in their localities. He said they have also a working coordination with PEO since their road project is within the PPRMF’s road program.

The women’s groups can help plan, maintain and monitor the road project, he said.

The outcome of the workshop, Abosolo said, would be submitted to the PEO and project contractor. He said the contractor has committed to employ local residents, especially women, in the project.

In an interview, the Tagapua barangay chairman said a good access road would help reduce their transportation cost especially during harvest time, and improve the barangays’ transport services.

At present, Parcon said the only available transportation facility is a passenger-motorcycle charging P30 per passenger in going to the town center. Transporting a sack of palay also costs P30. He said no other means of transportation is available for the barangay residents.

Parco said Barangay Tagapua is nine kilometers from San Francisco town and produces 14,000 sacks of palay rice (700 metric tons) per cropping.