If some heads have to roll, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said it has to start with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan, who, for him, is not taking the investigation of the collapsed P1.2 billion Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela seriously.
Cayetano presided over the motu proprio inquiry of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee into the matter on Friday, March 14, where Bonoan was absent. He lamented the slow investigation being done by the DPWH on the matter.
A portion of the bridge connecting the town of Cabagan to Santa Maria collapsed last February 27, less than a month after it was completed and opened to the public, leaving six people injured.
“If this was Japan or Singapore, many would have already resigned, and then they would have findings by now since it's two weeks, but since this is the Philippines…all of you are doing their best, but there is no structure, no protocol,” Cayetano said in Filipino.
Cayetano questioned DPWH Undersecretary for Operation Eugenio Pipo as to why nobody has been put under preventive suspension since the bridge collapsed two weeks ago.
According to the senator, this would mean that if there had been any anomalies in the design or testing, it has already been covered up.
"If I was the guilty person what will I do? I'll cover (it) up di ba? I'll get the plans...I'll talk to everyone," he said.
Pipo also mentioned how cracks were found on "Span 8" which was retrofitted in May 2023. Cayetano called this out, asking why it was paid for by the government.
"I understand that retrofitting means you're addressing an issue with the original setup or upgrading it. If you’re upgrading, there’s no problem because it’s not covered in your contract. However, if you're going back to fix an existing problem, the government shouldn't be responsible for that cost," he said in Filipino.
In an interview after the hearing, Cayetano said that he's very disappointed on how the DPWH is taking the investigation. The senator observed the agency seems the agency's probe was "not wholehearted."
He also raised that this matter has been reported in the media as a design flaw, but those in charge of the investigation are saying it's just a theory and has not yet been confirmed and that the only action that has been taken by the agency is to gather all the documents.
"But it looks like if some heads have to roll, it has to start with the Secretary of DPWH because he's not taking this seriously," he said in a chance interview after the hearing.
Cayetano hopes that the DPWH will shape up and stated that if it weren't for thee hearing, they wouldn't have learned that DPWH is not prioritizing this matter.
What's most important now, according to Cayetano, is to assure the public that not all bridges being used now are safe.
Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., commenting on the issue of the collapsed Cabagan-Santa Maria bridge in Isabela, says heads must roll "whether it was due to fault or gross negligence."
“As the chairperson of your Senate Committee on Public Works, I am deeply alarmed and greatly concerned about the collapse of this newly-opened Cabagan-Santa Maria bridge in Isabela. Whether it was due to fault or gross negligence, we must swing the sword so that accountability will run its course,” Revilla said, who was present virtually.
“There are times when we say that we must not point fingers. But in this kind of situation, there can't be no one at fault; and even more so, there can't be no one to hold accountable. Anyone involved or complicit in the mistake or negligence must be named and held accountable,” he added.