CABAGAN, Isabela (UPDATED) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday blamed the collapse of the Cabagan-Isabela bridge on a “design flaw” brought by a slashed budget from previous administrations.

The Cabagan-Santa Maria bridge’s construction started in 2014 and was completed on February 1, 2025, less than a month before a portion of it collapsed after a 102-ton truck and several other vehicles passed by.

“Ang ending nito, ang puno’t dulo nito, design flaw. It is a design flaw, mali yung design,” Marcos Jr. said after inspecting the bridge with Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan and local officials.

“The design is really weak dahil kung tutuusin ninyo, this is supposed to be a suspension bridge, nakasabit,” he said.

“Ito lang ang suspension bridge na nakita ko sa buong mundo na hindi kable at yan na mismo ang bumigay. Ayan, o, diyan ang bumigay yung bakal. Kung kable yan, hindi dapat bumigay yan,” he said.

The project’s original cost was pegged at P1.8 billion and later halved to some P900 million, the President said.

The project was supposed to be completed in 2019, but had to be retrofitted even before it could be used.

“Bakit nag-refit? Nung nagko-construction pa lang may nakita na gumagalaw, na mahina kaya kailangan balikan at i-refit,” Marcos Jr. said.

“So the whole process, okay naman, yung construction, yung contractor sinundan naman ang plano, by the book naman yung kanyang ginawa up to specifications naman yung kanilang ginawa. Iyun lang, yung specifications, mali. So this is a design problem,” he said.

“So yung nagtitipid tayo, tinipid natin na P1.8 billion, useless. Ngayon babalik na naman tayo, gagastos na naman tayo ng malaki. Papalitan natin yang mga support, parang nagtayo na naman tayo ng bagong tulay,” he said.

Isabela bridge ‘overstressed’ before collapse: DPWH

BRIDGE ‘TILTED’ BEFORE ITS OPENING TO THE PUBLIC

The retrofitting had to be done because a portion of the bridge already tilted even before it was used, said Eng. Magno Balisi, project manager from contractor RD Interior Junior Construction.

“Mayroon nangyari diyan noon kaya ni-review ulit ng third party… May nag-tilt,” he said.

Balisi denied allegations that the bridge was built using substandard materials.

“Lahat yan bago ka maglagay ng kuwan diyan, dumaan sa quality control. Alam ng DPWH yan,” he said.

“Mayroong mga testing yan… Naitayo itong bridge, siyempre, may approval ng DPWH,” he said, noting that they only implemented the design given to them by the DPWH Central Office.

The bridge was designed to carry a maximum load of 44 tons, far below the 102-ton truck loaded with boulders that passed through.

WHO SHOULD BE HELD LIABLE?

When asked who should be held liable for the mishap, Marcos Jr. said, “I always have a saying, fix the problem, not the blame. Ayusin muna natin yung problema.”

“Believe me, we will find out who is responsible. Who is responsible is basically who made the design, their design is poor,” he said.

“Also, those trucks should never have been on the bridge. So, sinong liable diyan province? We have to be more careful about the monitoring,” he said.

Collapsed Cabagan-Santa Maria bridge just opened Feb 2025, cost P1.2-B - DPWH

ABS-CBN News tried to reach out to the designer of the bridge, but he has yet to respond to queries.

Isabela Governor Rodolfo Albano distanced the provincial government from the issue, saying that the bridge was a national project directly under the DPWH.

DPWH Region 2 Director Mattias Malenab said that they were still waiting for the Central Office’s final investigation results and declined to answer more specific questions as he only assumed office in November 2024.

ALL BRIDGES TO BE INSPECTED

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro also on Thursday said government will undertake a thorough inspection of existing bridges in the Philippines, especially those constructed under the Duterte administration.

The Palace earlier pointed out that 90% of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge project was constructed during the Duterte administration.

She said that it is likely that the Department of Public Works and Highways and local government units will inspect all bridges, especially those constructed during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte.

“[D]ahil hindi po natin alam kung nagiging under-design din po siya. Kailangan po lahat hangga’t maari ay ma-inspect,” Undersecretary Castro said.

(Because we don't know if those were also under-designed. As much as possible, we need to inspect them all)

While the President said that he wants to focus first on the reconstruction of the bridge, the Palace vowed to make the people responsible for the collapse liable, whether these are from the previous or present administration.

"[I]mbestigahan mula nang ito ay magkaroon ng design up to the time kung bakit pa ito itinuloy kung hindi na maganda ang design noong 2014. Bakit tinapos pa ito sa panahon ni dating Pangulong Duterte at sinasabi pa nilang Duterte legacy ito,” Castro said.

(We will investigate to see why this pushed through even if the design was not good. Why was it continued during the time of former President Duterte and why it was called part of the Duterte legacy)