By Hans Amancio
LIVING UNDER TROUBLED BRIDGE – For the past four years, Len Calago and her family have been living under Otis Bridge in Manila, which was recently closed due to severe damage. (Ali Vicoy)
Despite the danger posed by cracks from 50 years of use, the Otis Bridge in Paco, Manila remains to be "home" to three families of "bridge dwellers."
For four years now, Samar-born Len Calago, 40 has been living under Otis Bridge with her husband and two children. It was not part of their plan but poverty left them with no choice.
"We really have nowhere to stay that even though this bridge is slowly giving way to the weight of vehicles, we decided to stay. We wanted to leave but we have nowhere else to go,” Calago told Manila Bulletin in Filipino.
Calago and her family used to live in a small town in Eastern Samar. In 2013, Typhoon Yolanda struck Samar islandcausing destructive landslides and storm surge rendering homeless 30,000 families, them included.
When it dawned they had a bleak future after the tragedy, a friend offered Len's husband a job as a jeepney driver in Manila. The couple took the job offer. But with a salary enough only to feed the family, Len knew that there was no other choice but to live as informal settlers.
“We will not endure this kind of life if there is a way other. But as it is there’s none. We barely make both ends meet,” she shared.
With no walls or partition, Len's humble abode leaves no space for privacy. A salvaged cabinet and wooden chair that serves as dining table is all they have and whatever unoccupied space is for their personal items – clothes, shoes and bags.
The "bedroom" is made of pieces of plywood nailed and assembled together and raised just a few meters above the ground. When nature calls, a ceramic toilet bowl is just a few steps away ready to be used. There is no water. Covered by a large piece of tarpaulin, Len's family gets by under the heat and rain. But when the weather gets harsher and their makeshift roof doesn't do the job, the concrete bridge serves as their ceiling and protection. But with meter-long cracks and opening that developed on its underside, even the bridge doesn't serve its purpose.
"This bridge leaks and concrete have started falling. It becomes worst during the rainy season as cracks have widened,” Calago narrated.
Displaced anew
Last Monday, she and the other bridge-dwelling families already noticed the cracks on the bridge and medium to large rocks began to fall with each passing vehicle shaking the concrete. Fearing a collapse, they sought the help of the barangay.Following the reports from the barangay officials, the Department of Public Works and Highways ordered the closure of the bridge the next day. DPWH-South Manila District Engr. Mike Macud said the bridge was scheduled to undergo a total replacement in 2016 but the P37-million replacement was deferred to give way to the Skyway project along Osmeña Highway.
General Manager Jojo Garcia of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) admitted that due to its age and the damage it sustained from trucks traversing the bridge daily, the Otis Bridge is now dangerous to motorists and even pedestrians. Calago agreed.
Weeks before the closure, Calagosaid officials from Manila City Hall paid them a visit and checked on their condition.
Calago said they asked the city hall officials for help because they had nowhere to go.
The DSWD temporarily allowed Calago, her husband and two children aged 17 and 13 to stay at the Manila City hall.
The work on Otis Bridge will officially begin June 30 and is expected to be completed on March 2019.