Collapsed Isabela suspension bridge has ‘no cables’ – Marcos

(President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (File photo screengrabbed from Bongbong Marcos’ Facebook live)

MANILA, Philippines —A “design flaw” and reduced funding were among the reasons for the collapse of Cabagan-Sta. Maria Bridge in Isabela province, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said after inspecting the structure on Thursday.

In an interview, Marcos was asked what might be the reason behind the disaster.

“The root of this is a design flaw… The design was wrong,” he pointed out in Filipino.

“The history of this was the funding, the project cost was supposed to be P1.8 billion. So it was reduced to P1 billion to make it cheaper,” he added

“The detailed design was done. The design is very weak,” Marcos said.

“This is the only suspension bridge in the whole world without cables, and that’s why it collapsed,” he added.

READ: Isabela bridge collapse initially traced to ‘under-design’

Earlier, the president warned that heads would roll if corruption could be proven to be behind the retrofitting of the bridge.

Meanwhile, as he was in the province, Marcos also inspected the Rice Processing System II (RPS II) in Echague.

The facility, inaugurated in November 2024, is part of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund Mechanization Program.

The program has a total investment of P67.4 million.