What Happened?
A bridge in Isabela called the Cabagan-Sta. Maria Bridge collapsed on February 27 after a very heavy dump truck passed over it. Six people were hurt in the accident.
What Did President Marcos Say?
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. visited the site and explained that the bridge collapsed because of a design problem. He said, “The construction was done correctly, and the contractor followed the plan, but the problem was in the design itself.”
He explained that the project was originally planned to cost P1.8 billion, but the budget was cut to less than P1 billion to save money. Because of this, the final design of the bridge became too weak.
What Was Wrong with the Bridge?
The President said the bridge was supposed to be a suspension bridge, meaning it should have been supported by strong cables. However, in this case, there were no cables to hold it up properly. He pointed out, “This is the only suspension bridge I’ve ever seen in the world that has no cables—and look what happened.”
Why Did It Collapse?
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said the bridge was designed to carry up to 44 tons, but the truck that passed over it weighed 100 tons—more than twice the limit! Because the bridge was already weak due to the flawed design, it could not handle the extra weight and gave way.
Who Is Responsible?
When asked who should be blamed for the accident, President Marcos said he wanted to fix the problem first before identifying those at fault. However, he did mention that those who created the weak design are likely responsible.
The DPWH also revealed that the bridge was 90% completed back in 2014, during the previous administration, and was designed by a private consortium along with an engineer. Investigations are now being conducted to determine exactly who is accountable for the bridge failure.
What Happens Next?
Since the bridge collapsed, the government now needs to spend a lot of money again to repair or rebuild it. President Marcos expressed frustration, saying, “We tried to save money by lowering the cost, but now we have to spend even more to fix it. It’s like we have to build a whole new bridge again.”
A deeper investigation is now underway to find out what went wrong and to make sure similar accidents do not happen in the future.
