Marcos orders probe into collapse of Isabela bridge
At A Glance
- According to Castro, the government will not let those responsible off the hook.
President Marcos has ordered an investigation into what caused the collapse of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela on Feb. 27, Malacañang said.
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro disclosed this following the incident, which reportedly left six persons injured. The bridge's 60-meter third span reportedly collapsed when a dump truck carrying boulders weighing around 102 tons passed.
In an interview over State-run Radyo Pilipinas on Saturday morning, March 1, Castro said someone should be held accountable for the incident.
"Nagkausap kami ng Pangulo kahapon regarding this. Ito talaga ay papaimbestigahan kung may bahid man ng korapsyon sa nangyaring ito (The President and I talked about this yesterday. This will be investigated if there is corruption involved)," she said.
"Hindi talaga pwedeng hindi managot. 'Yan ang sabi ng Pangulo (There should be accountability. That's what the President said)," she added.
According to Castro, the government will not let those responsible off the hook.
"Pag nalaman natin kung sino ang mayroong pagkakamali dito at may bahid nga korapsyon— kung may bahid ng korapsyon— ay dapat may managot, makulong (When we find out who's responsible and there is corruption involved, they should be held accountable under the law, they should be jailed)," she said.
"Pero siyempre iisa-isahin pa rin natin ang facts. Kailangang may ebidensya (But, of course, we will go over the facts. There should be evidence)," she added.
Castro, meanwhile, appealed to local government units (LGUs) to regularly inspect the infrastructure projects in their locality.
"Dapat magkusa na rin. Sa dinami-rami po talaga ng trabaho ng Pangulo hindi naman talaga natin maiisa-isa 'yan (They should be proactive. The President has a lot on his plate that he cannot attend to everything himself)," she said.
"Kaya nga po may mga namumuno sa LGUs. Obligasyon niyo po 'yan. May building officials naman kayo. 'Yan po ang dapat nagchi-check (That's why there are LGUs. That's your obligation. You have building officials who should check them)," she added.
Castro then urged local executives to coordinate with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) should they find irregularities in the infrastructure projects.
In a statement, the DPWH-Region 2 said it is already investigating the collapse of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge.
The construction of the bridge started in November 2014 and was completed over 10 years later on Feb. 1, 2025, with a total cost of P1,225,537,087.92.
The bridge is 990 meters long and consists of 12 arches with a span of 60 meters each and nine spans of Pre-Stressed Concrete Girder (PSCG) Type IVB. The total length of the approaches is 664.10 linear meters.