President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday attributed the collapse of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela to design flaws and overloading.

The President said this as he visited the site of the fallen bridge with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan.

“Ang ending nito, ang puno’t dulo nito design flaw. It is a design flaw, mali ‘yung design. Ang history kasi nito dapat ang funding nito was supposed to be P1.8 billion. Binawasan to under P1 billion para makamura,” he told reporters at the site.

The President also said weak design elements contributed to the fall, particularly the use of non-cable suspension to support the bridge.

He described the damaged infrastructure as the only suspension bridge without cable worldwide.

“Design is really weak. This is supposed to be a suspension bridge, nakasabit,” the President said. “[Pero] ito lang ang suspension bridge na nakita ko sa buong mundo na hindi kable at iyan na mismo ang bumigay. Bumigay ‘yung bakal,” he added.

The President saw four vehicles pinned down by the ruins, including one dump truck, two SUVs, and one motorcycle. No casualties were reported during the incident last Feb. 27.

The President said the dump truck contributed to the collapse, exceeding the maximum gross vehicle weight of 45 tons allowed under Republic Act 8794, the Anti-Overloading Law.

“This is a 44-ton bridge. Dapat 44 tons ang acceptable load,” the President said. | PND