President Aquino led the inauguration of the New Lullutan Bridge in Ilagan City today. Screengrab from Noynoy Aquino’s Twitter account.
Twenty years – that’s how long it took to repair Lullutan Bridge in Ilagan, Isabela, according to President Benigno Aquino III.
Aquino, who led the inauguration of the 500.6-lineal meter bridge on Tuesday, said that the government failed to construct a bridge after the original spillway bridge was destroyed by debris during the onslaught of typhoon “Rosing” in 1995.
“Di ko nga po maalis sa isip ko: Bakit naman pinahirapan sa loob ng 20 taon ang mga kababayan natin dito?” he said in his speech.
(I can’t help but ask: Why were our fellow Filipinos made to suffer for 20 years?)
Aquino pointed out that his mother, Corazon Aquino, who was a former president, was not among those who should be blamed for the delay.
“Hindi po kasali siyempre doon sa tatanungin natin ang aking ina, dahil 1995 po si Rosing, nanay ko po natapos ang termino 1992,” he said.
(Of course my mother is not among those who should be asked that question since Rosing came in 1995 and my mother’s term ended in 1992.)
Although he did not mention other names, Aquino seemed to be referring to former President Fidel V. Ramos, who served from 1992 to 1998, and other former chief executives.
Aquino said if the project was completed decades ago, it could have benefited hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who had to travel and transport their
“Hindi rin naman po kalabisang sabihin na di-hamak na mas mura sana ang gastos kung ipinagawa na ito noong 1995 pa lang,” he added.
(Perhaps it wouldn’t be too much if I say that cost of the bridge should have been cheaper had it been repaired in 1995.)
Lullutan Bridge, which has a loading capacity of 20 tons, costs P772.924 million and was completed last January 21.
It is one of the longest bridges that crosses Cagayan River. It connects Camalagui 1 village and Lullutan village in Ilagan City.
When the original spillway bridge was destroyed in 1995, the residents were forced to transport their agricultural products through the use of barges. AC