PIKIT, Cotabato—The Kulanguan Diversion Channel, which nearly cuts across the Davao-Cotabato National Highway in Barangay Layug, Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur, has stood for over 30 years as a key flood control structure.
The channel, now called the Tunggol River Cut-Off, was dug in 1983 to divert downstream discharges from the Ligawasan Marsh into the Mindanao River. The Tungol Bridge was built in 1988, and its embankments on both sides of the manmade river have held up since then.
Observers credit the durability of the 1988 project to contractor Ibrahim Matalam Maglangit, who delivered a lasting structure despite his political connections. While riverbanks around the area have eroded over the years, the bridge embankment remains intact.
Floodwaters, however, continue to eat away at the right bank of Barangay Layug, threatening to undermine the national highway. In response, residents joined Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) officials in reinforcing the riverbank with steel plate stockpiles, using a hydraulic crane.
Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua personally inspected the works, while Maguindanao del Sur Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu urged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to mobilize more resources. However, DPWH is currently under review by Malacañang amid nationwide probes into flood control spending.
Under the Bangsamoro Organic Law, national highways and bridges remain under DPWH authority, limiting BARMM’s role to remedial measures using its own resources. Despite these limits, officials and volunteers managed to stave off damage that could have crippled transport and disrupted the economies of BARMM and nearby Regions 11 and 12.
