DESIGN FLAW: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. points to a section of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela province on Thursday, March 6, 2025. He said cost-cutting led to the poor and flawed design, resulting in the bridge collapse on Feb. 27, injuring eight people and damaging several vehicles. He vowed to find those responsible for the damage. 鈥擯hoto from the Presidential Communications Office
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� A Malaca帽ang official on Thursday proposed that the government inspect bridges constructed during the Duterte administration following the collapse of a newly opened one in Isabela, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said was due to cost cuts that resulted in a 鈥渇lawed鈥� design.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro, the Palace press officer, said the inspection would determine whether other bridges were 鈥渦nder-designed,鈥� allegedly like the Cabagan-Sta. Maria Bridge in Cabagan, Isabela, which collapsed last week, injuring eight people and damaging several vehicles.
鈥淚t鈥檚 also good to suggest 鈥� and the administration will probably do this 鈥� that we inspect all of the bridges, especially those built during the time of former President [Rodrigo] Duterte, with the help of the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) and the local government units,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know if these were also under-designed. So, as much as possible, all of them should be inspected.鈥�
READ: Isabela bridge collapse initially traced to 鈥榰nder-design鈥�
Castro made the remarks during a press briefing after President Marcos visited the bridge Thursday morning and received a briefing on the incident from Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan.
Marcos blamed the bridge collapse on cost-cutting, which led to a 鈥渇lawed, poor鈥� design, and on overloading.
鈥淭he cause of this is a design flaw. The design was wrong,鈥� he said.
Marcos said the project cost was supposed to have been P1.8 billion, but for cost-saving reasons, it was brought down to under P1 billion.
鈥淪o, when the detailed design was made, the design was really weak,鈥� Marcos told reporters after inspecting the damaged span.
What was billed as a suspension bridge did not have the cables to support its arches, the President said.
鈥淭his is the only suspension bridge in the world that I鈥檝e seen that is not supported by cables. As you can see, the steel gave way. If they used cables, it wouldn鈥檛 collapse,鈥� Marcos said.
鈥淎nd those trucks should never have been on the bridge. So, who is responsible for that?鈥� he said, noting that the bridge was designed to support a 44-ton load.
READ: Collapsed Isabela suspension bridge has 鈥榥o cables鈥� 鈥� Marcos
But three trucks carrying rocks weighing a total of 100 tons attempted to use it. The first one was able to cross the bridge, but one section of the bridge over a dry riverbed gave way under the second truck.
The President said that the P900 million initially spent for the bridge went up to P1.2 billion because of retrofitting.
鈥淣ow we have to go back to zero. We will spend a lot again,鈥� he said, lamenting the costs. 鈥淲e will replace the support of the bridge, but it鈥檚 like constructing a new bridge.鈥�
Asked who would be held liable, the President said he wanted to fix the problem first but vowed to find the culprit.
鈥榃e will find out鈥�
鈥淏elieve me, we will find out who is responsible. Who is responsible is basically who made the design because their design was poor. Look what happened. And then also, those trucks should never have been on the bridge. So, who鈥檚 liable for that? Is it the province?鈥� Marcos said.
He added that authorities also have to be more careful in monitoring the load capacity of bridges and the weight of vehicles crossing them.
Castro said the construction of the bridge spanned three administrations, beginning with President Benigno Aquino III, but 90 percent of it was completed during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte and retrofitted under Mr. Marcos.
Earlier, she said the 990-meter bridge, which crosses the Cagayan River in Isabela and opened to vehicular traffic in February, allegedly suffered from 鈥渦nder-design鈥� based on an initial investigation.
In engineering, an under-design means that a structure, system, or component has insufficient capacity, strength, or performance to meet expected loads, stresses, or operational requirements.
鈥楧uterte legacy鈥�
During Thursday鈥檚 press briefing, Castro said the government鈥檚 investigation would also determine why the bridge construction proceeded despite the alleged flawed design.
鈥淭his will be investigated from the time that the design was crafted, up to the time that it was continued, even if the design was poor. Why it was completed during the term of the former President and it was even labeled as part of the Duterte legacy,鈥� she said.
Castro said the investigation would also look into any liability of officials in the Marcos administration.
鈥淭here will also be an investigation if someone made money from this, not once, not twice, but many times. The President will find out all of this through this investigation,鈥� she added.
Name those responsible
Members of the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives have called for a congressional inquiry into the incident.
House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro (ACT Teachers party list), House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas (Gabriela party list), and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel filed House Resolution No. 2249, urging an investigation to identify those responsible and determine whether corruption or negligence played a role.
鈥淎llegations of corruption, inadequate inspections, substandard materials, and possible collusion between contractors and government officials have surfaced, as the DPWH has long been perceived as an agency plagued with corruption, as evidenced by multiple cases of infrastructure failures across the country,鈥� the resolution stated.