Malacañang asserted that the opening of the Bucana Bridge in Davao City was not premature, citing that the road approach leading to the bridge was initially cleared for limited access.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro explained on Tuesday, Dec. 16, that the Coastal Road Segment B —the road approach of the Bucana Bridge project—was initially cleared to be passable for two lanes, and would only be open to vehicles during daytime.

Having two lanes of the road segment open for motorists, does not mean the opening of the Bucana Bridge, which was inspected by President Marcos earlier this month, was premature.

"Kung madaanan siya—yung two lanes, e di hindi siya premature (If the two lanes are possible, then it is not premature)," Castro said in an interview with Malacanang reporters shortly after her Palace press briefing.

According to Castro, the road had only limited access due to the incomplete installation of street solar lights.

This prompted the regional office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to halt the initial opening of the road segment.

"Passable yung two lanes. Pwede naman kasing daanan kaya lang umaga dahil hindi pa nga kumpleto yung solar lights. So, puwedeng daanan kaya yun ang pakiusap, yun ang initial agreement na magkakatulungan para maayos yung trapiko. And then, hindi na lang pinadaanan (The two lanes are passable. They can be used in the morning because the solar lights are not fully installed yet. So, it’s possible to pass through, which was the request—the initial agreement was to cooperate to manage the traffic. And then, they just didn’t allow it to be used)," Castro said.

"Hindi siya pinadaanan because we need the cooperation also ang kooperasyon between sa DPWH agt saka sa LGU kailangan yun. Kung isa dito ay hindi makikipag-cooperate, hindi talaga madaanan siya. So kailangan ng kooperasyon para sa ikagiginhawa ng mga mamamayan natin (They did not allow it to be passable because we also need cooperation. Cooperation between the DPWH and the LGU is necessary. If either one does not cooperate, it really won’t be passable. So cooperation is needed for the welfare and improvement of our people’s lives)," Castro added.

She stressed that the road was initially cleared for opening during daytime from 6 a.m. to 5th p.m., considering the help it would provide to ease traffic within the area.

Acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte has described the scheduled opening of the Bucana Bridge on Dec. 15 as premature as the approach road remains incomplete.