In an in terview recently after his visit to Tacloban City, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated that if the San Juanico bridge will not be ready for vehicles weighing a maximum of 12 tons by end of 2025, he will accept the resignations of the government officials who were unable to act swiftly to prevent the crisis that the damage to the bridge has wrought on the people of Eastern Visayas and in many other areas of the country and who are adversely affected by the limited use of the bridge.
In recent meetings, the DPWH has been mentioning the 33 tons limit that will be reached in 6 months. Now it has been brought down to 12 tons. The following vehicles exceed 12 tons: tractor-trailers, full-size cement mixers, large dump trucks, heavy equipment transporters, and buses with more than 60 passengers. Limiting the use of the bridge to vehicles with a maximm weight of 12 tons is not at par with curreent and future needs.
Many of the over 12-tons vehicles are needed in projects and promoting tourism in the region. Keeping the repairs to the 12-ton weight is restrictive and not in pace with the area’s development needs. The President should order that the bridge repair and improvement reach a higher weight category to make it future-proof, a concept I mentioned in last week’s issue.
The President must have received reports that clearly show people are suffering, trips are delayed, prices are getting higher, tourism is waning, so and so forth. But local oficials did not brief him on the future of this region and the need to have a bridge that can accommodate at least the 33 ton maximum. The construction of the second San Juanico Bridge is not expected to start until 2028 yet, if it even starts at all.
I made a comment in this column about the negligence that resulted in the sudden closure of the bridge and the long time needed for its full rehabilitation. This is an angle that still needs to be looked into.
The presence of alternate modes of transportation has emerged in the course of solving the crisis. All point to difficulties in solving the crisis to the point that government is already willing to subsidize or pay for the added transport cost just to free users from the additional expense and therefore prevent inflation.
The Amadayehan Port can only accommodate one large vessel at a time for the movement of goods to and from the Tacloban Port. Even the bollards needed for making the ferry stable when anchored on the port is a problem and is not readily available. Navigational lights have to be installed to enable safe nightime crossings and double the trips. The Local Government of Basey, Samar needs a permit to commercially operate the port. There are many other tehnical and bureaucratic needs requring government attention.
This is the reason why I suggested in this column that only President BBM can coordinate and ask offcials of a multitude of agencies to act quickly and decisively.
His recent visit and photo ops in different parts of the bridge and nearby places demonstrated his willinglness and ability to act in a crisis situation. But after his visit did the officials accelerate their actions or was it business as usual?
This does not seem so. I learned that the managers of the Philippine Ports Authority are not fully cooperating and going out of their way to facilitate action.
Whatever happens on the road to the solution of this crisis, I just feel that there is a grave planning, monitoring and coordination problem here. There should be no excuses, no ifs and buts. Just get it done. That attitude should prevail.
There is no room for the slow-footed when it comes to government action. When you are slow and wasteful in your work, you go. Your heads will roll. That is what I get from the President’s pronouncement aired on a nationwide podcast.
It is unfortunate that this policy will be implemented here because it does not speak well of our capabilities, well at least to some of us.
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