20 YEARS DOWN President Aquino leads the inauguration of the 500-meter long Lullutan Bridge in the City of Ilagan, Isabela province, on Tuesday. The bridge, which was destroyed by a typhoon in 1995, cost P773 million to build. MALACAÑANG PHOTO
CITY OF ILAGAN—While it took the government 20 years to complete the P772.924-million Lullutan bridge here destroyed by Typhoon “Rosing” in 1995, its opening on Tuesday was proof that the government had not neglected Isabela province, President Benigno Aquino III said.
Mr. Aquino cited the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for building a structure of “excellent and durable quality.”
“In putting up the bridge, the DPWH, under Secretary Rogelio Singson, pursued the so-called five Rs, short for right project, right quality, right people, right time and at the right cost,” he said.
The President took a swipe at the Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo administrations for allegedly allowing Isabela folk to suffer for 20 years by not replacing the Lullutan spillway bridge.
Speaking during the inauguration of the bridge in Ilagan City, the President wondered, “why were our people here made to suffer for 20 years?”
“Maybe you can ask those who were ahead of me why it took 20 years,” Mr. Aquino said, obviously referring to Presidents Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Aquino pointed out that his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, did not belong to the group “because Typhoon Rosing hit the country in 1995 while my mother’s term ended in 1992.”
“It’s a pity because had attention been given to this project before, livelihood and travel of several hundred thousand of our people could have improved,” he said. “It would have been cheaper to build this in 1995.”
“It’s clear under our matuwid na daan crusade, the administration is pushing for justice, not “just tiis (patience).”
According to the President, the Lullutan bridge project was “concrete proof” that the government was not neglecting Isabela.
“Add to that the 59.56 kilometers of farm-to-market roads that we have put up in the province. Once we have completed the additional 15.9 kilometers of similar roads, the number of farmer beneficiaries will reach 20,000 … There are also 32 irrigation projects that we intend to finish and once they’re completed, up to 146,625 hectares of farmlands will get water supply, benefiting 90,950 farmers all over the province,” he said.
In his remarks, he stressed that Isabela folk are “among my Boss.”
“There are barely 450 days left for my administration. But my resolve to serve you gets stronger. ‘My father once said, “the Filipino is worth dying for.’” So, I say ‘the Filipino is not only worth living for and worth dying for but worth fighting for,’” he added.
With the completion of the 500.6-meter bridge, residents of the Cagayan Valley province will no longer use barges in transporting their agricultural products to the Ilagan City market.
Also, travel time between barangays (villages) on either side of the Cagayan River will be cut short drastically.
The 14-span steel structure, which has a loading capacity of 20 tons, “opens up the province of Isabela to new areas for development, particularly in the agricultural sector,” said Singson.
Singson said that between 2011 and 2015, the government allocated more than P8.1 billion worth of road and other infrastructure projects in Isabela.
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