Road to SEA Games opening venue inaugurated

MANILA, Philippines — Just days before the grand kickoff of the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games at the Philippine Arena, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar led yesterday the inauguration of the main route to the SEA games opening venue.

Villar, along with other government officials, opened to motorists the Ciudad de Victoria Interchange Overpass Bridge and Bypass Road in Bocaue, Bulacan. Delegates will use it as the main route in going to the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena indoor stadium.

The new infrastructure is expected to address the usual heavy vehicular traffic entering the Bocaue interchange, reducing travel time to Sta. Maria town in Bulacan from 50 minutes to only 15 minutes, and will serve as alternate road to the heavily congested Gov. F. Halili Road.

Villar said the construction of the bypass road and bridge, which started January this year, was fast-tracked in time for the opening ceremony of the 30th SEA Games on Saturday.

The Philippine Arena is considered one of the largest indoor mixed-use facilities in the world.

“Efficient roadways and increased road capacity will do a great deal in the success of the opening rites for the Philippines’ hosting of biennial multi-sport event involving participants from 11 countries of Southeast Asia. With our anticipation on the volume of vehicles and traffic jams during the opening ceremony, the bypass road shall provide ease of transport to delegates who will be competing for the pride of their respective countries,” Villar said.

He explained that the project’s scope of works included the concreting of a four-lane road, construction of 80.80-linear meter overpass bridge crossing North Luzon Expressway and acceleration/deceleration lane with 42.80-linear meter concrete bridge and 757-linear meter road.

The P260-million project was funded under the 2018 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Office 3. Eventually, a 1.91-kilometer road from Mac-Arthur Highway to Bocaue municipality will be improved and a 1.3-kilometer road from Philippine Arena to the existing Patubig Road in Marilao, Bulacan will be constructed.

The ceremonial opening of the road project was also attended by Sens. Joel Villanueva and Francis Tolentino; Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando; Reps. Apol Pancho, Miro Quimbo, Alfred Vargas, Precious Hipolito Castelo, Mike Defensor and former congressman Feliciano Belmonte; lawyer GP Santos of Maligaya Development Corp.; DPWH Assistant Secretary Eugenio Pipo Jr. and Region 3 director Roseller Tolentino; and Mayors Joni Villanueva of Bocaue, Russel Pleyto of Sta. Maria, Francis Zamora of San Juan City and Rex Gatchalian of Valenzuela City.

At the Clark Freeport, where swimming and other events will be held, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and CEO Vivencio Dizon gave assurance that the various facilities inside the New Clark City were not just built for the SEA Games and would not end up as white elephants.

The facility, which includes the 200-hectare National Government Administrative Center (NGAC), was inspected yesterday by government officials led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano. 

The NGAC will serve as backup offices for government agencies to ensure the continuity and efficiency of government operations and services in the country should any disaster occur.

The Philippine Coast Guard is monitoring possible security threats and a typhoon that might cause postponement of water-related sports.  

Commodore Allan dela Vega, PCG National Capital Region-Central Luzon (NCR-CL) commander, said they are also closely checking weather developments. 

“As of now, there is no problem. We have not monitored anything that could be considered as a maritime threat from coastal to seaward,” he said. 

While there may be no reports of a potential typhoon that would enter the country during the duration of the SEA Games or until Dec. 11, he is concerned about the “what if” should there be changes in the weather.  

“What I am concerned about are the water sports activities in La Union. For us, it is really the weather. What we have been talking about are what would be our contingency plans, what if we need to stop the activity in the event that there is a typhoon and how will it affect the SEA Games schedule,” Dela Vega said. 

Just recently, the northern part of the country experienced flooding and rains caused by Typhoons Ramon and Sarah.

Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said it is working with the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) in ensuring that best practices are met in welcoming international visitors to the 30th SEA Games. – With Richmond Mercurio, Ric Sapnu, Evelyn Macairan, Catherine Talavera, Rudy Santos