House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan (Facebook)

If he would have his way, House Minority Leader Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan would include the first ever Luzon-Visayas crossing bridge under the government's Mega Bridge Program.

“We are calling on the government’s economic planners to include the Sorsogon-Northern Samar Bridge over the San Bernardino Strait in the Mega Bridge Program,” Libanan said in a statement Monday, Aug.28.

“The bridge will solve the problem of seaport congestion and thousands of passengers getting stranded during weather disturbances,” reckoned the 4Ps Party-list representative.

“There’s also no question that the bridge will spur rapid economic growth on account of greater mobility of people and goods and highly improved access to new markets, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs),” he noted.

Libanan hails from Eastern Samar, and previously represented the province’s lone district in Congress for three consecutive terms.

For decades, roll-on roll-off (RoRo) ferries have been carrying passenger and vehicles over the San Bernardino Strait between seaports in the Municipality of Allen in Northern Samar and the Municipality of Matnog in Sorsogon.

The two seaports have a distance of 28 kilometers, and the average travel time by ferry is 1 hour and 30 minutes.

A previous study commissioned by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) had ascertained the feasibility of building a crossing bridge that would connect Allen and Matnog.

The study, completed in 2019, had estimated that the crossing bridge would cost around P284 billion with a construction timetable of six years.

“We are not worried about the cost. The bridge is a labor-intensive construction project that tends to benefit low-income households,” Libanan pointed out.

“The investment in wages, and the related consumer spending that results from it, will surely pay off many times over and contribute to alleviating poverty,” said the minority leader.