Isabela bridge collapse initially traced to ‘under-design’

FLAWED FROM THE START? Faulty design may have caused a section of the Sta. Maria-Cabagan bridge in Isabela province to collapse on Feb. 27, injuring six people, including an 8-year old boy. —Villamor Visaya Jr.

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Wednesday vowed to hold liable all parties responsible for the collapse of the Sta. Maria-Cabagan bridge in Isabela province, as initial findings by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) showed the structure suffered from “under-design.”

At a press briefing, Palace press officer Claire Castro noted that while the bridge’s 12-year construction spanned three administrations, 90 percent of it was completed during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The structure, which was opened to vehicular traffic only last month, consists of 12 arch bridges with 60-meter spans and nine-span prestressed concrete girders.

“Based on the initial investigation, because of the earthquakes and the long passage of time, the bridge has weakened and needed retrofitting at this time. But what we are seeing is that there was an ‘under-design,’” she said.

“Liability would not only fall on the previous administration, but all of those who are responsible may face liability,” Castro pointed out.

READ: Probe of Isabela bridge collapse pushed

In engineering parlance, “under-design” refers to a situation where a structure, system, or component is designed with insufficient capacity, strength, or performance to meet expected loads, stresses, or operational requirements.

An under-designed system is prone to failure, inefficiency, or a reduced lifespan due to inadequate safety margins or incorrect assumptions about real-world conditions.

Overloaded

On the night of Feb. 27, the 990-meter bridge, which crosses the width of the Magat River in northern Isabela and connects the towns of Sta. Maria and Cabagan collapsed just as a dump truck loaded with boulders passed.

With the damaged bridge, residents are forced to use the overflow steel bridge that they had been using when the new bridge was being built.

Castro said Malacañang would undertake a more in-depth investigation to focus on the alleged “under-design.”

“What could have been the cause that it cannot bear the weight of heavy vehicles, because based on the initial investigation, it was only intended for light vehicles,” she said.

In a statement, the DPWH regional office in Cagayan Valley said private construction firm R. D. Interior bagged the contract to build the bridge, which started in November 2014 and was completed on Feb. 1 at a total cost of more than P1.22 billion.

Last year, R.D. Interior was again contracted to undertake a “retrofitting” of the bridge for P274.8 million, documents showed.

Quoting a report from Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Castro said the bridge collapsed because a dump truck that carried boulders had exceeded its weight capacity.

Conflicting information

But she clarified that the early findings by the DPWH are not conclusive.

“This is not yet a conclusion, but at this point, we can only hold the owner of the dump trucks because three loaded dump trucks passed, according to the initial investigation,” she said.

In a radio interview, Bonoan reiterated his claim that the bridge was “overstressed” because three trucks passed and that the bridge crumbled just as the second truck traversed the span.

“This is our preliminary assessment: that segment [that failed] was overstressed [by] 200 percent,” Bonoan said.

However, a dashcam video of the ill-fated truck seemed to dispute the DPWH’s claims that three trucks in a convoy passed that supposedly caused “overstress” to the bridge.

The footage, which was being circulated online, showed that no other dump trucks were passing the bridge when it collapsed.

Interagency probe

The National Bureau of Investigation-Isabela, designated as the lead agency probing the bridge collapse, said it was planning to engage private experts in bridge construction to assist in the inquiry alongside other government agencies, head agent Chris Mesa said in an interview on Wednesday.

The DPWH regional office has also been conducting technical assessments of the collapsed bridge while the NBI investigation is underway.

It has requested assistance from the design and construction bureaus at the central office to aid in the investigation.

The Cabagan police said they had obtained video footage allegedly recorded by the helper of the driver of the ill-fated truck that fell off the bridge when it collapsed on Feb. 27.

The footage reportedly showed the truck crossing the bridge when it suddenly gave way before reaching the third span. Authorities are currently verifying the authenticity and ownership of the video.

Efforts to locate the flagman who allegedly allowed the overloaded truck to cross the bridge are also ongoing, but his identity has not been publicly disclosed.

Victims’ burdens

Survivors of the accident said they continued to endure “physical pain” and “financial hardship” while recovering at the Cagayan Valley Medical Center in Tuguegarao City.

One of the victims, Jaypee Bulauan, suffered from broken bones and contusions that required multiple surgeries.

His relatives, struggling to cover medical expenses, have appealed to the public for financial assistance.

Eight-year-old Kierson Catindoy, a cancer survivor, sustained a severe fracture in his left leg during the incident. His father, Ronel, 42, a non-uniformed worker at the Divilacan police station, and his mother, Dinkie, 41, a non-uniformed worker at the Santa Maria police station, remained hospitalized due to fractures requiring extensive surgeries.

Jhonny Albano, a 40-year-old driver, and Bryan Dejan, a 31-year-old resident of Catabayungan, Cabagan, Isabela, were still recovering from their injuries.

Although the victims have received some financial aid from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the assistance was reportedly insufficient to cover their mounting medical expenses.