Palace: Heads will roll over bridge collapse
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured the public that heads will roll following the sudden collapse of the newly retrofitted Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela, Malacañang said Saturday. During the Radyo Pilipinas' "Prangkahan Na!" program, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the president ordered an investigation into the incident, which reportedly left six persons injured. The bridge's 60-meter third span collapsed when a dump truck carrying boulders weighing around 102 tons passed. "The President and I talked about this yesterday. This will be investigated if there is corruption involved," Castro said. "If there is corruption involved in what happened from 2014 until now, they must really be held accountable. That's what the president said," she added. The Palace official said the government would not let those responsible off the hook. "When we find out who's responsible and there is corruption involved, they should be held accountable under the law; they should be jailed," Castro said. Castro said while the collapsed bridge was "not just an ordinary case," the government still needed to determine the real cause of the collapse. "But, of course, we will go over the facts. There should be evidence," she added. Meanwhile, Castro appealed to local government units (LGUs) to regularly inspect the infrastructure projects in their locality and coordinate with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) if they find irregularities. "They should be proactive. The president has a lot on his plate that he cannot attend to everything himself," Castro said. "That's why there are LGUs. That's your obligation. You have building officials who should check them," she added. In a statement, the DPWH-Region 2 said it was already investigating the collapse of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge. It also requested experts from the Bureau of Design and Bureau of Construction of the agency's central office "to conduct further evaluation and assessment." The bridge, whose construction began in November 2014 at a total cost of P1.22 billion, was originally slated for completion in 2019 but required retrofitting due to structural defects. The bridge is 990 meters long and consists of 12 arches with a span of 60 meters each and nine spans of pre-stressed concrete girder type IVB. The total length of the approaches is 664.10 linear meters. On Friday, Akbayan party-list first nominee Chel Diokno called on the DPWH to investigate the sudden collapse of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge on Thursday. "I join the people of Isabela in calling on the DPWH to investigate the bridge collapse. I also urge the local government to provide the necessary assistance, especially to the passengers of the four vehicles that were affected by this incident," Diokno said in a statement. He also called on the DPWH to provide alternate routes for vehicles after the collapse. Four vehicles were damaged because of the bridge's collapse. "This bridge had been under construction for over a decade and that happened. Whoever was responsible should be held accountable for this," Diokno said.
Tomas Kauer - Moderator 
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured the public that heads will roll following the sudden collapse of the newly retrofitted Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela, Malacañang said Saturday.
During the Radyo Pilipinas' "Prangkahan Na!" program, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the president ordered an investigation into the incident, which reportedly left six persons injured.
The bridge's 60-meter third span collapsed when a dump truck carrying boulders weighing around 102 tons passed.
"The President and I talked about this yesterday. This will be investigated if there is corruption involved," Castro said.
"If there is corruption involved in what happened from 2014 until now, they must really be held accountable. That's what the president said," she added.
The Palace official said the government would not let those responsible off the hook.
"When we find out who's responsible and there is corruption involved, they should be held accountable under the law; they should be jailed," Castro said.
Castro said while the collapsed bridge was "not just an ordinary case," the government still needed to determine the real cause of the collapse.
"But, of course, we will go over the facts. There should be evidence," she added.
Meanwhile, Castro appealed to local government units (LGUs) to regularly inspect the infrastructure projects in their locality and coordinate with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) if they find irregularities.
"They should be proactive. The president has a lot on his plate that he cannot attend to everything himself," Castro said.
"That's why there are LGUs. That's your obligation. You have building officials who should check them," she added.
In a statement, the DPWH-Region 2 said it was already investigating the collapse of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge.
It also requested experts from the Bureau of Design and Bureau of Construction of the agency's central office "to conduct further evaluation and assessment."
The bridge, whose construction began in November 2014 at a total cost of P1.22 billion, was originally slated for completion in 2019 but required retrofitting due to structural defects.
The bridge is 990 meters long and consists of 12 arches with a span of 60 meters each and nine spans of pre-stressed concrete girder type IVB. The total length of the approaches is 664.10 linear meters.
On Friday, Akbayan party-list first nominee Chel Diokno called on the DPWH to investigate the sudden collapse of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge on Thursday.
"I join the people of Isabela in calling on the DPWH to investigate the bridge collapse. I also urge the local government to provide the necessary assistance, especially to the passengers of the four vehicles that were affected by this incident," Diokno said in a statement.
He also called on the DPWH to provide alternate routes for vehicles after the collapse.
Four vehicles were damaged because of the bridge's collapse.
"This bridge had been under construction for over a decade and that happened. Whoever was responsible should be held accountable for this," Diokno said.
