PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday said the Cabagan-Santa Maria bridge in Isabela collapsed due to flaws in its design and because of overloading.
Marcos on Thursday went to Echague, Isabela to inspect the fallen bridge. He was accompanied by Secretary Manuel Bonoan of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and other local government officials.
During the inspection, the president saw four vehicles still pinned down under the ruins, including one dump truck, two SUVs and one motorcycle.
“Ang puno’t dulo nito design flaw. It is a design flaw, mali ‘yung design (The root cause of [the collapse] is the design was flawed. It is a design flaw, the design was wrong),” Marcos said in an ambush interview.
He said the original project was for a cable-suspended bridge pegged at P1.8 billion, but the design was changed when the construction cost was brought doown to below P1 billion.
He said one major flaw was the non-use of cable suspensions to support the bridge.
“Design is really weak. This is supposed to be a suspension bridge, nakasabit. Ito lang ang suspension bridge na nakita ko sa buong mundo na hindi kable at iyan na mismo ang bumigay. Bumigay iyung bakal (The design is really weak. This is supposed to be a suspension bridge, a hanging bridge. This is the only suspension bridge that in the world that is not suspended by cable, and that was what broke. The steel gave way),” he said.
The president said the bridge was also designed just for 44 tons but two dump trucks, that supposedly weighed more than 100 tons each, passed by the bridge that contributed to the collapse.
When he asked local government officials who should be held liable for allowing heavy trucks to use the bridge, the executives said the infrastructure is maintained by the national government.
He initially said the designer of the bridge should be blamed for coming up with a weak design, noting that the contractors merely followed the flawed design specifications.
He later on said that instead of finger-pointing, the government would rather focus on solving the problem.
“I always have a saying: fix the problem, not the blame. Ayusin muna natin ‘yung problema (Let us fix the problem). (But) believe me, we will find out who is responsible (for this),” he said.
Marcos said that while the cost of repairing the will be equal to building a new one, “we have no choice. We have to go back.”
“So, ‘yung nagtitipid tayo, tinipid natin (iyong) P1.8 billion, useless. Ngayon, babalik na naman tayo. Gagastos na naman tayo nang malaki. Papalitan natin ‘yung mga support. Parang nagtayo na naman tayo ng bagong tulay (What we saved from the P1.8 billion, [it’s] useless. We have to go back. We need to spend more. replace the support. It’s like building a new bridge),” he said.
The construction of the bridge started in November 2014 and was completed on Feb. 1, 2025, at a total cost of P1.22 billion.
It spans 990 meters and consists of 12 arches and nine pre-stressed concrete girders.
It links Cabagan and Sta. Maria to Enrile, Cagayan and Tabuk City, Kalinga.
OTHER BRIDGES
In Malacañang, Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the DPWH and concerned local government units (LGUs) should inspect all bridges in the country, especially those that were constructed under the “Duterte Legacy” to make sure that they are not “under designed.”
“I-inspect po, hangga’t maaari lahat po, with the help of DPWH, with the help of LGUs, lahat po ng mga tulay lalong-lalo na po iyong naisagawa sa panahon ni dating Pangulong Duterte dahil hindi po natin alam kung under-designed din po sia. Kailangan po lahat hangga’t maaari ay ma-inspect (All bridges [in the country] shoud be inspected with the help of the DPWH and LGUs, especially those built during the term of former President Duterte because we do not know if these were also under designed. We need to inspect all as much as possible),” Castro said.
She said that prior to the completion of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge, flaws were already detected, which she said should have been immediately addressed. She did not elaborate.
