Screengrab from a drone video of the collapsed newly-built Cabagan-Sta. Maria Bridge in Isabela on Friday morning, February 28. Video from SDN Events\Chu Taquiqui

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered an investigation into potential corruption in a bridge in Isabela province that took more than a decade to build and collapsed the same month it was opened to the public, a Palace official said.

A portion of the P1.22-billion Cabagan-Sta. Maria bridge — which was completed in February 1, 2025 after more than 10 years of construction — collapsed late Friday, reportedly after a truck weighing 102 tons passed through.

“Nagkausap kami ni Pangulo kahapon regarding this. Ito talaga ay papaimbestigahan,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a radio interview on Saturday.

(The President and I talked about this on Friday. This will really be investigated.) 

She said that even a hint of corruption since construction on the bridge began in 2014 will need accountability.

4 hurt in Isabela bridge collapse still in hospital: local government staff

“‘Pag nalaman natin kung sino ang mayroong pagkakamali dito at may bahid nga ng korapsyon, kung may bahid ng korapsyon ay dapat may managot, makulong,” she said.

(If we find out who is responsible and if there is even a hint of corruption, they should be held accountable and jailed)

Initial information from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) showed that the 990-meter bridge’s construction started in November 2014.

The project was contracted to the R.D. Interior, Jr. Construction firm, the DPWH had said.

“Further analysis on the cause of failure is still on-going and DPWH Region 2 has requested experts from the Bureau of Design and Bureau of Construction in the Central Office to conduct further evaluation and assessment,” the agency said in an earlier statement.

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

The project was supposed to be completed in 2019, but was delayed after several defects were flagged, Castro said.

“May nakitang depektibo kaya nagkaroon ng retrofitting. Siyempre ‘pag sinabi mong retrofitting, ibig sabihin may problema na dati pa ‘di ba,” she said.

(There were some defects, to it needed retrofitting. Of course, when we talk about retrofitting, that means there was a problem, right?)

 The road mishap in Isabela last week injured at least six people, including a minor, and left four vehicles damaged.

The collapse of the bridge has prompted calls for investigation and accountability, with ACT Teachers Party-List saying the probe should go beyond low-level officials.

"Hindi lang dapat ang flagman ang sinisisi dito. Kailangang managot ang contractor at mga DPWH officials na nag-approve at nag-supervise ng proyektong ito," ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. France Castro said.

(Responsibility must go beyond the flagman. The contractor and the DPWH officials who approved and supervised this project should be held accountable too)

The driver of the truck involved in the crash has reportedly surrendered to authorities while the flagman — tasked with directing traffic across the bridge — is at large.

Former ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. Antonio Tinio, one of the party-lists's nominee in the May elections, said the Isabela bridge is not an isolated case.

"We've seen multiple instances of newly built or rehabilitated infrastructure failing prematurely. This points to a systemic problem of corruption and lack of proper oversight in our infrastructure projects," he said.

Akbayan party-list nominee Chel Diokno, a human rights lawyer, meanwhile, joined the call for an investigation, but also called for government "to provide the necessary assistance especially to the passengers of the four vehicles that were affected by this incident."

He added: “In the immediate, dapat din tiyakin ng DPWH na may alternate routes na puwedeng gamitin ng mga sasakyan (the DPWH must make sure there are alternate routes that motorists can use)."

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