PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday said the more than 50-year-old San Juanico Bridge that links Samar and Leyte should undergo checks and inspection every three years to ensure that proper maintenance is undertaken.
Marcos said that had regular maintenance check been done in the past, the current status of the bridge would have been prevented.
“Ang talagang nangyari diyan, mayroon kaming rehabilitation plan para sa San Juanico. Noong iniinspeksyon ‘yung tulay para titingnan kung saan kailangan i-rehabilitate, ang daming nakita na delikado (What happened was, we have a rehabilitation plan for San Juanico. When it was inspected to determine which part needs to be rehabilitated the most, it was discovered that many parts where already in critical stages),” he said.
“At sinabi kaagad ng mga engineer, ‘isara natin ito dahil babagsak ito pagka minalas tayo’ (And the engineer immediately said, ‘let’s close it down because it will collapse if we get unlucky’),” he also said, adding that “perhaps it was because proper maintenance hadn’t been done over the years.”
“Dapat ‘yan every three years binabalik-balikan. Tinatanong ko sa mga lokal, sa ating mga kab-abayan, kung talagang nagawa ba noon every three years. Mukhang hindi kaya nagkaganito (In-spections should be conducted every three years. I asked the local officials if this was done in the past, and it appeared not have been done),” he continued.
The President made the remarks after he visited and inspected the ongoing expansion of the Amandayehan Port in Basey, Samar and the repair and rehabilitation efforts at the San Juanico bridge in Tacloban City.
After the inspection, Marcos reassured those affected by the repair works that more assistance are on the way, including possible aid to truck operators and delivery services that incurred ad-ditional expenses for ferrying their vehicles across the San Juanico Strait.
He acknowledged that several sectors in the provinces of Leyte and Samar have been affected by the three-ton weight limit on the San Juanico Bridge that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) implemented after the bridge was declared to be in critical condition.
The weight limit has prevented the passage of heavy cargo vehicles, including the delivery of basic commodities, and affected trade between Samar and Leyte and their surrounding areas, and prompted the use of alternate routes and delivery scheme, such as flying products through the Amandayehan airport or ferrying the goods using the Roll On/Roll Off (RoRo) and Landing Craft Tank (LCT) vessels at the Amandayehan port.
The President said the national government can “provide some assistance” but it could not shoulder the whole added costs for those crossing the San Juanico Strait via the RoRo services.
“I don’t know how that will work, but inevitably, the transportation costs are going to go up. Somebody has to pay for that, so I don’t know if it’s, if it will be shouldered by, what can the government do? We can provide some assistance. We certainly can include some assistance, but we cannot cover all of the price increase,” he said.
Reports said cargo trucks are charged at least P3,000 for a one-way trip across the strait.
The President said additional measures such as allowing night navigation to allow round-the-clock limited crossings across the strait and the deployment of more RoRo vessels that could carry 30 to 50 trucks will be implemented to ensure the timely transport of goods.
Government is also already providing financial assistance to residents affected by the bridge program.
As of 6 p.m. of June 10, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said it has provided more than P1.504 million worth of food packs and other aid to some 2,438 families or 2,508 persons who were affected by the rehabilitation program.
