Senate to probe alarming incidents of collapsing bridges nationwide
MANILA, Philippines — A resolution directing the appropriate Senate panel to probe recurring incidents of collapsing bridges in the Philippines and seek accountability from all responsible public officials and contractors has been filed in the upper chamber.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel filed Senate Resolution No. 1319 on Monday, pointing out that the number of incidents of bridges collapsing across the country has reached an alarming level.
READ: Heads will roll after Isabela bridge collapse – Marcos
In his measure, Pimentel said these have resulted in fatalities, injuries, and significant economic losses, raising urgent concerns over deficiencies and design, use of substandard materials, lack of proper oversight and possible corruption in infrastructure projects.
He then proceeded to list down incidents of bridges collapsing, with the most recent one recorded when the Cabagan-Santa Maria bridge in Isabela collapsed on February 27.
Other incidents recorded were as follows:
Article continues after this advertisement- Magapi bridge in Balete, Batangas on October 28, 2024
- Bantilan bridge connecting Batangas and Quezon on October 29, 2022
- Carlos Romulo bridge in Bayambang, Pangasinan on October 20, 2022
- Borja bridge in Bohol on June 16, 2022
- Loay-Clarin bridge on Bohol on April 27, 2022
- Bridge under construction in Kulafu, Magsaysay, Marilog District in Davao City on February 18, 2022
- Steel bridge in Barangay San Isidro Majayjay, Laguna on January 19, 2022
“Billions of pesos are spent and years are wasted building these bridges, only for them to collapse in an instant, endangering lives and squandering public funds,” said Pimentel.
Article continues after this advertisementAccording to him, these incidents particularly highlight the urgent need to review the compliance of national and local governments as well as contractors with engineering standards, design feasibility, maintenance protocols and infrastructure budget allocations.
Meanwhile, in a separate press briefing also on Monday, Senate President Francis Escudero addressed the Isabela bridge collapse, pointing out that the Department of Public Works and Highways has a liability on the incident should it be proven that there’s an erroneous specifications on the bridge and the program of work.
“It depends on who is found guilty. If the specifications are wrong, if the program of work is wrong, if the program of work is not followed and if the bridge is substandard, [then] the answer is yes because they are the ones who supervise the contracts made that are funded by the government,” Escudero told reporters.
But when he was asked if there’s a need for the Senate to investigate the matter, he simply noted that “other agencies are probably investigating” the case already, leaving it to them to probe the incident.
