Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III has filed a resolution directing the appropriate Senate committee to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation into the recurring incidents of collapsing bridges in the Philippines.

In filing Senate Resolution No. 1319, Pimentel said that this is to seek accountability from all responsible public officials, contractors, and other parties involved, and to assess the adequacy of current infrastructure policies with the end view of ensuring the safety and reliability of bridge structures nationwide.

He said that the number of incidents of bridges collapsing across the country has reached an alarming level.

"These have resulted in fatalities, injuries, and significant economic losses, raising urgent concerns over deficiencies in engineering and design, use of substandard materials, lack of proper oversight, and possible corruption in infrastructure projects," he said.

Pimentel filed the resolution following the recent collapse of the P1.2-billion Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela on Thursday night, Feb. 27.

According to DPWH-Region 2, the third span from the Cabagan side with a length of 60 meters collapsed when a dump truck carrying boulders with a calculated approximate gross vehicle weight of around 102 tons passed.

The senator said that billions of pesos are spent and years are wasted building these bridges, only for them to collapse in an instant, endangering lives and squandering public funds.

"Bridges must be built to withstand calamities and heavy use, yet their repeated collapses raise serious concerns," he stated.

"These incidents highlight the urgent need to review compliance by national and local governments as well as contractors with engineering standards, design feasibility, maintenance protocols, and infrastructure budget allocations," he added.

Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. said that the Committee on Public Works is ready to hear Pimentel's resolution if and when it is referred to the Committee, since it may also be referred to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

"Like I said Thursday night, nung kababagsak pa lang ng tulay, heads must roll - hindi lang yung contractor, kundi pati yung mga tauhan sa DPWH na involved dun sa project (As I mentioned on Thursday night, right after the bridge collapsed, heads must roll—not just the contractor's, but also those in the DPWH who were involved in the project)," Revilla said.

In the meantime, Revilla said that he has instructed the DPWH to submit a report, and they are waiting for them to do so.