PRIVILEGE SPEECH
SENATOR JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA
Senate of the Philippines
“A Bridge Meant to Last, a Failure We Must Learn From”
04 August 2025
Mr. President, my dear colleagues, good afternoon. I rise today on a matter of personal and collective privilege.
Five months after the reported collapse of the Cabagan–Sta. Maria Bridge, accountability has finally been demanded by the Department of Public Works and Highways—directed only at the driver of the dump truck operating a vehicle with an approximate gross vehicle weight of 89.63 metric tons.
Such a heavy load exceeded the bridge’s design load capacity of 33 tons and violated the maximum allowable gross vehicle weight (MAGVW) under Republic Act No. 8794 and its Revised IRR, which sets the MAGVW at 45 tons.
As fate would have it, the bridge—12 years in the making and opened for just over 20 days—collapsed.
Hailed as “one of the engineering wonders” and the “Gateway to the Cordilleras,” this road network was one that our kababayans had long looked forward to for decades. Para sa mga kababayan natin na buwis-buhay na tinatawid ang daan papuntang Isabela, isang malaking kaginhawaan sana ito. Ngunit ang kanilang pagbubunyi ay panandalian lamang.
Mr. President, I take this floor to demand answers. Why did a bridge, into which we poured over P1.2 billion of taxpayers’ money—meant to be a symbol of strength and connection—become instead a symbol of failure for the government? Sino ang dapat managot? Sino ang may sala?
Nakakadismaya na matapos maimbestigahan ito ng Senate Blue Ribbon Committee sa pangunguna ng ating kasamahan na si Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, ay ang nakakabahalang kawalan ng malinaw na pananagutan mula sa mga taong responsable sa pagpapatupad ng proyektong ito.
Based on all the documents my office has gathered, no information was submitted to the DPWH explaining how the designer of the 990-meter bridge—Alberto Cañete, a supposed bridge expert— or the Joint Venture of United Technologies Consolidated Partnership, Pertconsult International and Schema Engineers & Associates arrived at its design.
The Special Committee Report by the DPWH on the collapse of the Cabagan-Sta. Maria Bridge submitted to the Blue Ribbon Committee last April 30 noted that, “Based on limited research, there is no known precedent for this exact structural configuration in either local or international bridge projects.
It was an iconic bridge of unique form not typically constructed by DPWH. So why was such a design approved without the necessary technical documentation? Was due diligence not exercised in reviewing the safety, appropriateness, and long-term durability of the structure?
Sa pagsusuri ko ng nasabing Special Committee Report ng DPWH, sa kalagitnaan pa lamang ng pagpapatayo nito noong 2017, ay nakitaan na ito ng mga “significant signs of failure.”
From the very beginning, the whole bridge structure was bound to fail—this was according to then Project Engineer Felipe Lingan.
Gayunpaman, itinuloy pa rin ito at ang tanging naging solusyon ay retrofitting at epoxy injection. At ang masaklap pa dito, Mr. President, my dear colleagues, ay inako ng gobyerno ang gastusing ito na nagkakahalaga ng humigit kumulang sa P400 million!
Retrofitting or repair works due to the contractor’s mistake should be shouldered by R.D. Interior Junior Construction (RDIJC). That’s very basic.
Nagkaroon ng third-party consultant na nagsagawa ng audit o inspection, at makailang ulit mang nagkaroon ng technical evaluations, the root causes of these defects remain inconclusive.
Mr. President, bumagsak na ang tulay, ngunit hindi pa rin matukoy kung saan nagkamali, sino ang nagkamali, at kung sino ang dapat managot.
Upon further review of the said report, none of the companies that participated in the bidding were declared eligible. Sa mga lumahok sa bidding, ni isa ay walang karampatang karanasan para gumawa ng structural steel bridge project na kamukha ng Cabagan-Sta. Maria Bridge. Sa kabila nito, nai-award pa rin sa RDIJC ang nasabing proyekto.
In the said Special Committee Report of the DPWH, the filing of appropriate actions against the design consultant, Mr. Cañete, and RDIJC is being recommended.
Sa mga umiiral na batas, kapag nag-collapse ang isang istraktura dahil sa depektibong plano, specifications, construction methods o paggamit ng sub-standard materials, dapat managot ang mga inhinyero at arkitekto, na nag-prepara, nag-review, at nag-apruba ng mga plano at ang contractor na nagsagawa ng proyekto.
But aside from the truck driver, design consultant, and contractor—what about the public officials who exercised oversight functions?
Why is there no mention of disciplinary action against these supervising officials whose approval and oversight—or lack thereof—enabled this tragedy?
Mr. President, wala tayong nabalitaan na nasuspinding opisyal ng DPWH na may kinalaman sa proyektong ito. Wala rin tayong nabalitaang inimbestigahan sila upang panagutin.
A bridge does not collapse overnight. Anumang maliliit na bitak ay lumalala, lalo na kapag ito ay binabalewala.
This incident is more than a structural failure; it is a failure of governance. It exposes weaknesses in our systems—weaknesses that will persist if we refuse to confront them with transparency and resolve.
Mr. President, some of the decision makers are still with the Department. Sa aking pagkakaalam, dalawa sa Assistant Secretary ng DPWH ngayon ay naging Regional Director ng Region 2 noong panahon ng construction at retrofitting ng tulay at tatlong undersecretaries naman ay malinaw na matagal nang may control sa budget, supervision and oversight over the project ay nananatili sa pwesto at mukhang nabigyan pa ng karagdagang trabaho at dagdag na responsibilidad pagkatapos bumagsak ang tulay.
Hindi kaya sila ang pinatutungkulan ng Pangulo noong sinabing, “mahiya naman kayo!!”?
Mr. President, mahirap tanggapin na sa mga susunod na araw ay haharap sa kaso ang maliit na tao na tulad ng driver ng truck na pananagutin ng DPWH, samantalang pinagtatakpan nila ang kanilang mga kasamahan.
I urge the DPWH to take full accountability—not only by pursuing private contractors—but also by holding accountable its own officials who were involved in the planning, approval, and implementation of this project. Public confidence demands nothing less.
Explain the approval process, identify the lapses in monitoring and enforcement, and most importantly, assure the public that this will never happen again—not through promises, but through concrete reforms in design, review, safety compliance, and project oversight.
The bridge that was meant to stand strong for generations collapsed in less than three weeks. Its collapse should serve as a warning: when safety is compromised, when accountability is absent, it is the people who will pay the price.
I am not here to point fingers at anyone. I only hope that we use this incident to mark the beginning of a renewed commitment to engineering integrity, public safety, and true accountability.
Maraming salamat po.