CEM 18 - Highway Engineering

Lesson 1: The Highway and its

Development: Highway in the
Philippines

EnP./Engr. Jefferson R. Vallente Jr., CE, M.EASTS, A.TSSP

Asst. Instructor, Civil Engineering Department
Lesson Objectives
• Discuss the development of early roads and highway in
the Philippines from the early part of 1900 to the present
era.
• Recognize the importance of planning stage of a proposed
road construction project and be familiar with the items
confirming to highway design standards.
 Road Development and DPWH Timeline
1902, Act. Nos 22 1951, Department of
and 268 of the Public Works and
1868, Bureau of Philippine Communications
Public Works and Commission : Bureau (DPWC) was
Highways (Obras of Engineering and reconstituted as THE
Publicas) & Bureau of Construction of Public DEPARTMENT OF
Communications and Works and Bureau of PUBLIC WORKS,
1565, First settlement Transportation Architecture and TRANSPORTATION
roads (Spanish (Cummunicationes y Construction of Public AND
Colonization) Meteologia) Buildings COMMUNICATIONS

1867, King of Spain 1896, Gen. Emilio 1905, Bureau of 1987, Department of
designated the Aguinaldo created 4 Public Works was Public Works and
Spanish Governor Departments in created and placed Highways with 5
General as “Chief of government including under Department of Bureaus
Public Works” DPWH Commerce and Police
Spanish Regime and its influence on City Design
• Spanish Regime

King Philip II promulgated a code

that served as guide to all
colonized territories of Spain. This
code, which was applied
successfully to the Spanish colonies
in the Americas, was known as the
Laws of the Indies.

Source:
https://beat-
architect.blogspot.com/2011/03/urban-planning-
in-philippines.html
 A tour of Intramuros A mix of old and new photos of Intramuros

Intramuros Map, 1930

Photo Credits: National Library of France

 Spanish Regime and its influence on City
Design

Old Isla de Oro

Notice the similarities of

Downtown CdeO with
Intramuros design of a fort
located near bodies of water
as defense for invaders

• The royal ordinances dictated that each town should be

located on vacant and high ground, properly oriented to
sun, wind, and water areas. The site should also be on or
near fertile land and accessible to sources of fuel, timber,
and water.
 Spanish Regime and its
influence on City Design
• Because the law is based on
the Greco-Roman Renaissance
design principles, it favored
the use of the gridiron pattern
in the establishment of roads
and blocks.

• The plaza was the starting point of the

construction, around which were the
important buildings like the church,
casa real, town hall, bandstand for
zarzuelas and other edifices for health
and defense.
 Spanish Regime and its influence on City
Design

• Other lots surrounding the area were reserved for merchant shops and
prominent family [or principalia] dwellings.

• The code also specified that there were to be as many farm lots as town
lots. The law likewise states that each house should have stockyards and
courtyards. This could have been the Philippines' earliest land use and zoning
law and building code.
Let’s have a quick look at the old Cagayan de Misamis
Cagayan de Misamis
In 1818, the Manila Spanish divided
Mindanao into politico-military districts, one
of which was the Segundo Distrito de
Misamis, the largest district in Mindanao.
This area was composed of today's Misamis
Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Camiguin,
Bukidnon, Lanao, Zamboanga del Norte,
and the northern part of Cotabato.
The capital was the town of Misamis, today
called Ozamis City, where a fort and
garrison bigger than those in Cagayan were
constructed.
On February 27, 1872, the Spanish
Governor General Carlos Maria de la Torre
issued a decree declaring Cagayan the
permanent capital of Segundo Distrito de
Misamis. All Spanish politico-military
governors of Misamis, who were all
lieutenant colonels, lived at the Casa Real
de Cagayan, built in 1831, the site of
today's city hall of Cagayan de Oro. During
this era, the name of the town was
"Cagayan de Misamis".
In 1888, the Recoletos erected a wooden
cross -- "Santa Cruz" -- outside the San
Agustin Church. It still stands today.
1900s and the American Occupation
American Occupation
On March 31, 1900, the Americans invaded Cagayan de
Misamis by first bombing the flag fluttering at Macabalan wharf.
Filipino resistance fighters had already organized before the
attack, but retaliated only on April 7, 1900, led by Gen. Nicolas
Capistrano. The fighting erupted in the town center. This was
followed by the Battle of Agusan Hill, led by Capt. Vicente Roa
y Racines, who was killed with his men.
On June 4, 1900, however, for the first time in the entire
Philippine-American War, the Americans lost to the Filipino
revolutionaries in the Battle of Makahambus Hill. Col. Apolinar
Velez led the Filipino troop to victory.
The Americans won the war eventually, however. And under
foreign rule, Cagayan de Misamis became the center of
commerce, migration, and education in Northern Mindanao.
Several American governor generals visited the place: William
Howard Taft (who became the 27th US president), William
Cameron Forbessy, James F. Smith and Theodore Roosevelt,
Jr. Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmeña, Sr. also graced
Cagayan de Misamis.
Misamis Oriental became a separate province in 1930 through
Legislative Act 3777.
 Along the coast, a long time ago
Cagayan town: Wharf and Airfield
1944 - 1945

Source:
https://repository.monash.edu/items/show/26661#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=556%2C684%2C3521
%2C2031
 Along the coast, a long time ago
Cagayan wharf and town: looking south
22nd October 1944

Source:
https://repository.monash.edu/items/show/26664#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=1517%2C768%2C3930%2C
• DPWH has been long withstanding as the
infrastructure arm of the Philippines. It started
during the Spanish Colonial Era. It was in 1900s
when the transportation depended on roads. At
this period, the construction of highways seemed
to be impossible. It was during in the American
Period when the roadways were developed in the
Philippines.

• Rehabilitation and construction of roads occurred

after the World War II since a lot of roads were
destroyed due to US air bombing. It was paid by
the Japanese Government. Philippines was also
able to receive grant from the US government.

https://steemit.com/history/@gailbelga/brief-history-of-road-
and-highways
Highway and General Construction Programming
• DPWH mandates a uniform format for proposed
projects which undergoes costing and design
detailing.
Assignment No.1
• Download or procure a Program of Work for a completed road project near
you.
• Submit 5 photos of the road project whether actual photos or from google
maps.
• Guide questions:
1. How long did the road construction take to complete? Include details of the
road project if delays were observed.
2. What problems did you observe that were present in the POW but were not
present in the project completion?
3. Is the project cost enough to complete project? Please elaborate why and why
not.
Assignment No.2
1. Identify four highway classifications used in the Philippines.
2. Identify five road classifications according to systems used in the
Philippines
3. Gather slope design plans for a completed road project.
4. Gather drainage design plans for a completed road project.