The Road that will solved the traffic of Cebu City: Modernization at the expense of nature's destruction. A weekend roadtrip.

Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing great!

This past few months I haven't visited one of our old friend who happened to be a member of our church. Every Saturday we always visit them because their place is so relaxing. They live at the foot of one of the tallest mountains in Naga, Mt. Magdo-oc. It is the second highest point and Mt Naupa is the highest. Last Saturday, I asked my husband to visit them, so he checks everything of our car to have a smooth trip. We decided to pass through the Pangdan route to share with you the progress of the Metro Cebu Expressway.

_{Going to Barangay Pangdan where mountains are covered with lush green trees.}

There are many routes to go there but this one is where the road project starts. As we drove on the way to Pangdan Road the temperature changed as we saw the mountains covered by lush green trees.
It takes 15 minutes from our house to go to Pangdan located in the western part of Naga going to Toledo City.

_{The starting point of the bypass road}

When we arrive at the starting point of the Bypass road, you can see a wide center Island where both sides are already passable. There is also a big depot and the main office of the contractor the Quirante Builders. At the center Island some parts are covered by carabao grasses some are already burnt due to so much heat nowadays.

_{Quirante Builders depot and office of the project contractor.}

As we continue our trip we pass by one of the Chicken suppliers the Fresh Cut where you can buy dressed chicken in bulk. From there you will pass on to the bumpy and rough road because the place is situated in an industrial establishment which as of the moment still negotiating and looking for relocation.

_{dressed chicken supplier of Naga}

When we reach barangay Cantao-an they have made an embankment to prevent erosion from the mountains they have dug in. They put a lot of holes in the riprap so when it rains the water will pass on the hole and will not destroy the riprap. They put barrels to save the water and some children will fetch water to be used in their houses.

_{An embankment to prevent soil erosion.}

_{A child who fetches water from the barrel to be used in their homes.}

Before we continue on our journey we will visit our old friend first. When we reach their place you can see the road we have passed by. Some mountains are quarried already and only a few are covered with a green carpet of trees and shrubs. We are at the peak of the mountain where we can feel the fresh air, away from pollution and the relaxing beauty of nature. After almost two hours of talking about their living, we decided to go home. Our friend gave us an unripe banana, so we took it and brought it to the car. As we continued our journey passing the Expressway, I took some pictures of this herbal plant we call Swangga and Mayana. We put this herbal leaf to cover our wounds when we were young because it has a cold sensation and most of all to get away from flies. LOL

_{We are at the foot of the mountain and we see the road we passed by.}

<sub>Mayana Herbal plant

Swangga herbal plant</sub>

We have reached the almost-finished area of the road construction
where lots of road signs are there. You can also witness another mountain dug, to widen the road. There are still some houses standing near the dug area even if they are warned to transfer to another place. As you can see there are lots of mountains were destroyed because of this project which will someday be passable by many motorists, but children around this area will never see mountains again. There are people who gather and pack limestone for a living selling it in sacks which is allowed by the contractor. It was about 6 kilometers or more that we drove about until we reached the main highway.

<sub>Roadsigns ahead

Mountains are destroyed</sub>

_{houses near the excavation area.}

_{Look how they do it}

_{The road is so convincing}

_{their way of living}

_{The project ends as of the moment}

If Mountain can speak what would they say? They were destroyed by people for the cause of modernization. We desire comfort, away from traffic at the expense of a destroyed environment. Is it worth it? Is it just? We'll It's up to you how you will answer that question. All I know is that the next generation will never see the beauty of nature in this place again.

That's all for today, thank you for taking the time to read. Have a great day.