San Juanico Bridge passable for vans, buses by yearend—Marcos
Published Jul 7, 2025 01:36 pm
President Marcos has assured motorists that by the end of 2025, the San Juanico Bridge will be passable for 12-ton vehicles such as vans, buses, and private cars.
San Juanico Bridge
It will, however, remain closed for trucks, Marcos said.
The President made the assurance during the grand launch of the national fiber backbone phases 2 and 3 in Palo, Leyte on Monday, July 7.
He ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to expedite the retrofitting of the bridge and finish it as soon as possible.
“Ika nila by the end of this year, yung San Juanico kaya na ang 12 tons na tatawid. Kaya sa 12 tons, puwede na ang bus, puwede na ang mga van. Hindi pa puwede siguro ‘yung mga malalaking truck. Ngunit lahat ng iba puwede na. Private vehicles ‘yung mga hanggang 12 tons kakayanin na (They said that by the end of this year, San Juanico will be able to handle vehicles weighing up to 12 tons. That means buses and vans can already pass through. Perhaps the big trucks still can’t, but everything else, including private vehicles up to 12 tons, will be able to),” Marcos said.
Marcos also added that there is already over half a billion pesos in funding allocated to restore the load limit to 12 to 15 metric tons by this December.
He stressed that they must increase the full capacity of the bridge to 33 metric tons.
“Inatasan ko na ang DPWH at DBM (Department of Budget and Management) na hanapan agad ito ng solusyon. Agaran tayong kumilos, at patuloy na kikilos upang muling maging ligtas at matibay ang ating San Juanico Bridge (I have instructed the DPWH and DBM (Department of Budget and Management) to immediately find a solution. We must act quickly, and we will continue acting to ensure that our San Juanico Bridge becomes safe and strong once again),” Marcos said.
The Chief Executive recognized that the rehabilitation of the 2.16-kilometer bridge has caused long lines and slow travel.
According to Marcos, during his first inspection, trucks had to wait two to four days, and they had no waiting areas where they could eat, sleep, or take a bath.
“Kaya pinilit namin mas mabilis (So, we pushed for things to move faster),” Marcos said.
At present, he said, the waiting time now perishables decreased to an hour, and two hours at most while, vehicles of non-perishables wait about two to three hours.
He stressed that the waiting time for these deliveries need to be shortened as other regions, including those in Mindanao are already getting affected by the bridge's closure.
“Kaya binabawasan talaga natin. At kailangan talaga nating tulungan dahil hanggang Mindanao nararamdaman noong sinara, noong biglang nasara ang San Juanico Bridge to commercial traffic (So we are really working to reduce that. And we truly need to help because even in Mindanao, they feel the impact of the closure, when the San Juanico Bridge was suddenly closed to commercial traffic),” he said.