Pasig bridge hit by barges closed for damage check, repair

Bureau of Fire Protection personnel rescue a man aboard a barge that hit the F. Manalo Bridge in Pasig City after being swept by strong currents of the Marikina River on Wednesday night, July 24, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Pasig Public Information Office via PNA)

MANILA, Philippines – The F. Manalo Bridge in Pasig City was temporarily closed after it was hit by barges swept by the strong current of the Marikina River on Wednesday at the height of bad weather caused by Typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon.

“This bridge is scheduled to be rehabilitated or reconstructed because masyadong mababa ‘yung freeboard niya (the freeboard is too low). It’s not really designed for the barges to pass through,” Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan told President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in a situation briefing on the effects of the inclement weather, at the Presidential Security Command in Manila on Thursday.

Bonoan said the DPWH has enough funds to reconstruct the bridge.

“It’s just the matter of going through the design,” he said.

In the same briefing, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) acting chair Romando Artes reported that 13 barges and tugboats were swept by the strong currents on Wednesday.

They are owned by a construction company contracted for a Japan International Cooperation Agency-funded project at the Marikina River.

“We, together with the Pasig LGU, temporarily closed it because it might not be safe. The current is still strong. We have already coordinated with the office of Secretary Jimmy (Bautista) of the Department of Transportation and with the Philippine Coast Guard. The barges are still there and cannot be removed immediately due to the strong current. But the Coast Guard is already in contact with salvage companies to assess how they can be removed,” Artes said.

Bonoan, meanwhile, said the DPWH has deployed personnel and assets for quick response operations in seven regions – Metro Manila, Cordillera region, Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Zamboanga Peninsula.

“Manpower in these areas are on standby since 5 a.m. (today),” he added.

The DPWH chief said only Kennon Road in the Cordillera has been closed due to landslides.

Meanwhile, he said some roads in Central Luzon might become passable in the next hours.

“Water is continuously receding. In a few hours, I think the estimate is three hours more, it will be already passable, particularly in Bataan,” he added.

Bonoan noted that some road sections in Calabarzon are passable only to heavy vehicles.

“I have instructed all our regional and district offices that once the clearing of national roads (is) finished and to continue to coordinate with local government units where they need the assistance of the department to clear out areas that are inaccessible for the moment,” he said.