Isabela bridge collapse probe ongoing – Palace

DESIGN FLAW  – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.  points to a part of the section of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela. (PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines —  Malacañang on Wednesday said an investigation is still underway into the collapse of the Cabagan – Santa Maria bridge in Isabela, weeks after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. said that “heads will roll” following the incident.

At a briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro also said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has already formed a special committee to investigate the matter.

The committee will submit its findings by April 25.

Asked why no one has been preventively suspended from the DPWH following the President’s “heads will roll” statement, Castro said that the bridge collapse needs a thorough investigation.

This question arose after Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, chairperson of a Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee, warned that he would subpoena Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan after the latter skipped the panel’s investigation into the collapsed bridge.

“Sa ngayon po ay nagkakaroon tayo ng pag-iimbestiga; mahirap naman pong pabigla-bigla tayo magkaroon ng preventive suspension kung ang mga tao na involve ay wala naman na sa gobyerno,” she said.

(As of now, we are conducting an investigation. It would be difficult to impose a preventive suspension hastily if the people involved are no longer in the government.)

Casto also confirmed that Bonoan is still in office.

“Kung hindi pa po natin nakikita na siya po ‘yung pinaka-involved, hindi po natin siya mapapatawan ng preventive suspension,” she said.

(If we have not yet determined that they are the most involved, we cannot impose a preventive suspension on them.)

In his visit to Isabela on March 5, Marcos said the portion of the Cabagan–Santa Maria bridge may have collapsed due to “underdesign.”

The DPWH–Cagayan Valley reported that around 8 p.m. on February 27, the third span from the Cabagan side of the bridge collapsed after a dump truck loaded with boulders with a calculated approximate gross vehicle weight of around 102 tons passed.