President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. conducted an inspection and provided an assessment of the damaged Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela.
According to the President, the bridge’s design itself is the main issue. “This is a design problem,” Marcos stated during the inspection.
But according to the president, the priority right now is to find a solution to the problem, not to assign blame.
“Fix the problem, not the blame,” the president added.
He assured the public that once repairs are completed, the bridge will return to its original structural form.
The bridge, with a total length of 990 meters, was under construction starting in 2014, with a budget exceeding P1.2 billion. However, despite the completion of the construction, the bridge had not yet been opened for public use.
The incident occurred on February 27 when a dump truck crossed the bridge, leading to its collapse and resulting in six injuries.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) clarified that the bridge was designed to carry vehicles weighing up to 44 tons, far below the weight of the truck, which reached 100 tons.
