DPWH Completes Second Phase of Road to Samar’s Pinipisakan Falls

San Jorge, Samar – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has finished the second phase of a road construction project leading to the scenic Pinipisakan Falls in San Jorge, Samar. Funded through the 2023 Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP), the PHP48.95 million project aims to improve access to the falls and boost tourism.

According to Philippines News Agency, Raulito Yangzon, chief of the DPWH-Samar 1st District Engineering Office, confirmed the completion of the project in a phone interview on Wednesday. The construction, which began in February, involved building an 800-meter long and 6.1-meter wide road, including paved road shoulders. The DPWH also installed seven meters of reinforced concrete pipe culverts and constructed a 45-meter slope protection. The first phase of the road project, completed in 2022 at a cost of PHP4.65 million, also funded by TRIP, included paving 546 meters of a two-lane road. Yangzon mentioned that the number of additional phases needed to complete the entire 9.9-kilometer road stretch from Blanca Aurora to Bay-ang villages is still uncertain, as it depends on future budget allocations from the national government. The first two phases have paved and opened 1.34 kilometers of the road. Prior to this project, accessing Pinipisakan Falls required a three-hour motorboat ride and hiking. The waterfall, a hidden gem of Samar, is a four-tiered cascade emanating from a cave in the dense jungles of San Jorge.