Cabagan, Isabela
March 6, 2025

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. visited the Province of Isabela to inspect the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge that collapsed last month after two (2) overloaded dump trucks, each weighing approximately 100 tons, crossed the bridge one after the other.

In a brief statement during the media interview, President Marcos Jr. highlighted that the incident occurred due to a design flaw in the bridge, citing that the structure was only designed to support a load of 44 tons.

He stressed that during the initial construction of the bridge with a budget of around PhP900 million, there were issues that required retrofitting, indicating that the design problem was inherent from the outset.

Furthermore, he pointed out that the lack of proper monitoring of vehicles passing over the bridge was another contributing factor.

President Marcos Jr. emphasized that the national government’s priority is to begin the bridge’s repair, review its design thoroughly and then determine who should be held accountable for the incident.

The bridge, spanning 990 meters and consisting of 12 arches and nine (9) spans of pre-stressed concrete girders, was originally designed for light vehicles only. It serves as a vital route connecting Cabagan and Santa Maria to Enrile, Cagayan and Tabuk City, Kalinga.

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