TACLOBAN CITY – In 2013, before super typhoon “Yolanda,” one of the strongest typhoons to hit the country, barreled through Eastern Visayas, businessman Rhoel Ladera envisioned a lighted San Juanico Bridge, the decades-old charmer to attract tourists to visit this city.
"I am fond of visualizing our promising tourism sites to be enhanced. Since I am not in politics, I thought the only way for a private citizen to be heard is to ask support from same-minded people or those with the same advocacy, which is to develop more tourism destinations in our region," Ladera said.
Ladera posted his vision online, requesting lawmakers and the Department of Tourism (DOT) to join hands in promoting and improving infrastructures near the bridge.
He even made an online petition at change.org, which gained positive responses from the netizens.
"We have many visitors and clients who are awed by the beauty of the bridge, however, they lacked supporting facilities," Ladera said.
He hoped for LED lights to be installed, and more hotels, restaurants, and floating cottages to be built, including a view deck for visitors to appreciate the bridge's spectacular view.
Ladera, the owner of San Juanico Cruises and a car rental business, also dreamt of more businesses flourishing near the bridge where families and tourists could gather.
LIGHTING
Despite over three years of setbacks and delays, Ladera's dream is finally turning into a reality with the completion of the P80-million San Juanico Aesthetic Lighting and Sound project.
Samar Gov. Sharee Ann Tan, together with Department of Tourism-8 Director Karen Tiopes, proposed the project to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).
The project was approved in 2018, and initially targeted for completion in the second quarter of 2020.
However, due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the project was pushed to December 2021.
Due to the project's peculiarity, it encountered another problem during the test run when it was found out that the power supply from a substation supplying electricity to the bridge was unstable.
After addressing more issues, the full completion date was once again moved to Aug. 11, 2021, in time for the 180th Samar Day celebration.
Then Gov. Reynolds Michael Tan in August 2021 announced that the rehabilitation of the iconic bridge was further delayed due to the replacement of bolts, which affected some of the bulbs installed.
On Wednesday, Oct. 19, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son, and namesake of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who was the chief executive when the bridge was built and whom the bridge was named after, is expected to attend its ceremonial lighting.
From an orange bridge, it was painted in gray to complement the lights that will vary depending on the occasion, such as red for Valentine’s, red and green for Christmas, and violet for Lent.
HISTORY
Prof. Rolando Borrinaga, a noted historian in Eastern Visayas, said that the San Juanico Bridge is shaped like the small letter L, which stands for Leyte, and the Samar side is shaped like an S.
The 2.16-kilometer bridge links Samar to Leyte, which stretches along the San Juanico Strait.
It was built by the Ministry of Public Highways and was dedicated by Marcos Sr. to his wife Imelda, who hails from Tolosa, Leyte, from 1969 to 1972 for $22 million.
It was opened to traffic on March 18, 1973, and became the longest bridge in the Philippines until the Cebu-Mactan Bridge was completed in 1984.
Borrinaga said that the bridge was built with the help of a loan from the Japanese government.
He debunked stories that children were kidnapped and sacrificed for the bridge to be completed.
"We no longer have child sacrifice in the Philippines. Although there are other countries, especially in Africa that still engage in the said practice," he said.
With the fulfillment of his dream, Ladera expressed delight that his wishlist has been realized through Tiopes.
"This will be an advantage to all businesses in Tacloban and nearby areas like Samar. The Samar province pushed for this because they have many tourist destinations around the area. Now, more people will visit them, which will lead to their destinations nearby."