Photo credit: PCO

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. didn’t hold back when he visited the site of the collapsed Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela on Thursday. He pointed to poor design and overloading as the main culprits behind the disaster, which saw four vehicles—including a dump truck—trapped under the rubble.

"Ang ending nito, ang puno’t dulo nito, design flaw," Marcos told reporters on-site, emphasizing that the bridge was not built as originally planned. "Mali ‘yung design. Ang history kasi nito, dapat ang funding was P1.8 billion. Binawasan to under P1 billion para makamura."

One of the key flaws? The bridge was meant to be a suspension bridge, but it didn’t have cables to support it—a structural mistake the President said was unheard of worldwide.
"Ito lang ang suspension bridge na nakita ko sa buong mundo na hindi kable," he remarked. "At ‘yun mismo ang bumigay—yung bakal."

While no casualties were reported when the bridge fell on February 27, the incident left a dump truck, two SUVs, and a motorcycle crushed under the debris. Marcos noted that the dump truck was overloaded, exceeding the legal limit of 45 tons set by the Anti-Overloading Law (RA 8794).

"This is a 44-ton bridge. Dapat 44 tons ang acceptable load," he said.

With the bridge gone, affected residents and motorists now face major travel disruptions. The government is expected to fast-track reconstruction, but Marcos’ remarks highlight a deeper issue—cost-cutting on infrastructure projects that can lead to dangerous consequences.

As investigations continue, the question remains: How many more bridges and roads out there have been built with compromised designs?