Q: Sir, your assessment and directives?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: We are here because we have – siyempre naririnig namin lahat ‘yung mga problema, ‘yung nangyari dito sa pagsara o sa pag-limit ng traffic dito sa San Juanico Bridge. Kaya nakausap na namin ‘yung mga driver ng mga ibang truck.
Ang ginagawa namin ay ang kapalit itong RoRo na ganito. Ito pang-tatlumpu na truck. May dadating na pang-40 trucks, mayroong pang-50 trucks.
Tapos itong rampang ito, dodoblehin natin. Maglalagay pa tayo doon ng isa pa para double. Mga 500 trucks a day. Tapos mag-uumpisa na tayo ng night navigation. Ibig sabihin kahit gabi, puwedeng tumawid.
So, that’s our way of trying to mitigate the problem.
Maraming nagtatanong, bakit hindi napagplanuhan nang mabuti ito?
The reason is ang talagang nangyari diyan mayroon kaming rehabilitation plan para sa San Juanico. Noong iniinspeksyon ‘yung tulay para titingnan kung saan kailangan i-rehabilitate, ang daming nakita na delikado. At sinabi kaagad ng mga engineer, “isara natin ito dahil babagsak ito pagka minalas tayo.”
Kung saan ‘yung… Sir, ipakita mo ‘yung sa ilalim ng tulay.
Iyong tulay maganda pang tingnan if you look at it from outside. Pero ito ‘yung ilalim, kalawang na lahat. Ito ‘yung mga… Ayan o, ganyan na ang itsura doon sa ilalim.
Tapos hindi lang ‘yun, ito so, corrosion. Ito, ito – this is the third… Iyong sa ilalim. Ito, ito ‘yung bumibigay na. Nag… Saan ‘yung sa — ?
Ito, ito, buckling, buckling of the bottom na. Bumibigay na, bumibigay na ‘yung mga troso.
Kaya noong nag-inspection ang DPWH para nga sa rehabilitation, ika nila delikado na itong tulay na ito. Hindi namin akalain na ganito kasama.
Dahil siguro hindi namin malaman, hindi ginawa nang mabuti ang maintenance ng tulay. Dapat ‘yan every three years binabalik-balikan.
Tinatanong ko sa mga local, sa ating mga kababayan, kung talagang nagagawa ba noon ‘yung every three years. Mukhang hindi. Kaya nagkaganito.
Kaya ang inabot namin talagang sira-sira na. Kaya napilitan kaming isara. Kaya biglaan.
Ngayon, ngayon na alam natin ang problema, lahat ng maaaring gawin kagaya nitong mga barko, mga RoRo.
Tapos mayroon kaming mga iniisip na baka ‘yung traffic sa San Juanico – basta papalitan natin ‘yung mga sistema para mas mabilis.
Nakausap namin ‘yung isang driver ng truck, ang reklamo naman nila ang dala nila gulay. Eh naghihintay sila rito tatlo, apat na araw. Siyempre hindi naman refrigerated van ‘yan. Kaya wala, nasisira ‘yung kanilang mga produkto. Kaya ‘yun ang… Gagawa kami ng sistema para mauna ‘yung mga perishable goods.
Those are the mitigating factors that we are trying to undertake para naman kahit papaano… Tacloban is at a center of commerce eh. Ang daming naapektuhan dahil dito.
Kaya minamadali ko na naman ang Public Works na magsabi sa atin kung ano ang maaari na masabi natin na schedule. What were you saying about the different spans?
DPWH SECRETARY MANUEL BONOAN: Mr. President, I think we will be able to increase ‘yung gradually ‘yung load limits until before December.
Gradually kukumpunihin na natin ‘yung mga three-toner na segments. And then, we increase it to four tons, to five tons. And then eventually matapos namin before December, magkakaroon na tayo ng about 12 tons sa load limit.
So, puwede na po ‘yung mga bus, puwede na rin ‘yung mga mini trucks na puwede nang kumakarga ng mga perishable goods and everything para dito na sila dadaan.
Q: Iyong full completion po kailan?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: ‘Yung?
SEC. BONOAN: Iyong retrofitting is –
Q: Iyong completion talaga, the entire bridge to be back to normal?
SEC. BONOAN: The entire bridge is actually – and fortunately hinihintay na natin ‘yung new bridge, the new bridge that will be constructed.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Well, we will work on this – and as I said, the sections, it will be a gradual process. It depends on the traffic.
But ano? Kaya kaya in one year?
SEC. BONOAN: Kaya, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Narinig niyo na ‘yung ano ni Sec. Manny.Q: Mr. President, mayroon po bang mananagot doon sa hindi every three months na i-inspect?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Kayo ang mga journalist, hanapin ninyo. Iyon ba ‘yung investigative journalist? Wala pa kami noon eh. Kaya –Q: So, it was prior? It was prior to your administration?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Of course, hindi namin gagawin ‘yun. That’s why we will plead ignorance. We were not here yet. But how old is this bridge?
Q: Fifty-two years.
SEC. BONOAN: Fifty-three years.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Fifty-three years.
Q: Fifty-three.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Fifty-three, siguro noong panahon pa ng father ko, maayos ‘yung maintenance. Nasa DPWH na si Sec. Manny noon.
Maayos ang… Pero after ’86 yata, mukhang hindi na nagalaw.
Q: Sir, ano ang declaration ngayon ng Eastern Visayas? Any specific order sa mga concerned agencies?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Sa mga – ?
Q: Sa mga concerned agencies natin dito, sir?
SEC. BONOAN: With the declaration of the state of calamity.
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Yes, we already… Yes, that’s right. We declared the calamity to – so that we can bring in additional funding, we can bring in additional services.
Magkakaroon na ng convergence ng mga iba’t ibang department, iba’t ibang agencies. Tapos na ‘yan. Actually they are already – they have already done the convergence.
We know what we need to do. We just have to do it. Kagaya ng mga construction, getting more boats, maybe finding other ways to – other routes na puwedeng pantawid. Calbayog is one of the – other ones pero malayo na.
So, we’ll see, baka mayroon pang mahanap. Yes, yes.
Q: Mr. President, one of the worries is the pass-on charge to consumers considering the truckers are shouldering additional fees for the RoRo service. What can the government do to ensure that that will not be passed on to consumers?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Well, we will have to talk to… But it is unfortunately I can… Ay, no, especially if it is a national entity, I don’t think that will happen.
However, the smaller ones, I don’t know how that will work. But inevitably, the transportation costs are going to go up. Somebody has to pay for that. So, I don’t know if it will be shouldered by…
What can the government do? We can provide some assistance. We certainly can provide some assistance. But we cannot cover all of the price increase.
I mean that’s just what happened because of the condition of the bridge.
Q: So, at least a partial subsidy?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: If the condition of the bridge had been properly maintained in these last 50 plus years, we would not be having this conversation.
Q: Sir, ano pa po ‘yung ibang na-mention nung truckers? I understand you spoke with them. Ano pa po ‘yung na-raise nilang concerns and ano po ‘yung commitment ng government?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: Well, basically they still wait here – naghihintay sila dito ng three, four, five days.So, they – sa kanila personally siyempre mahirap para sa kanila. Saan sila natutulog? Saan sila maliligo? Saan sila kakain? Et cetera.
So, we have to think about those things, too. But talaga, they are just saying please, please make sure that as quickly as possible maibalik sa normal. So, iyon ang aming iniisip lagi, maibalik sa normal lahat ito.
Q: Sir, last na, metrics for you to lift the state of calamity? What conditions have to be met for you to consider lifting it after one year?
PRESIDENT MARCOS: When the traffic has returned to normal.
— END —
