Marcos says San Juanico Bridge repair 'partially finished'

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said Friday the repair of San Juanico Bridge in the Visayas has been partially finished. 

Speaking at his inspection of the bridge, Marcos said, "The repair of San Juanico Bridge is partially finished, it will be finished next year."

''Mabuti naman, medyo napabilis ang trabaho at ngayon, puwede na natin buksan ito for 15 tons na truck so malaking pagbabago. Makakatawid na 'yung mga cargo truck natin na dati hindi nakatawid,'' he added.

(It's doing well. The work is progressing faster and now, we can open this for 15-ton trucks. So it's a huge change, the cargo trucks can now cross the bridge.)

It was in May of this year when the bridge was limited to a three-ton load limit due to significant damage, primarily affecting its superstructure. The key affected components included roadway slabs, girders, truss members, piers, footings, piles, and bearing pads. 

The President had said more than P500 million has already been allocated for the San Juanico Bridge's repair.

Earlier, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said it was expediting repairs to increase its load limit to 12 to 15 tons by December of this year.

On December 10, a dry run implementing two-way traffic with an increased load limit of 15 tons was successfully conducted at the bridge.

Marcos is hoping that the San Juanico Bridge would be fully functional by the third quarter of 2026.

''We are hoping for the total return of the bridge's functions to allow 33 tons, two ways, by... the middle of next year, third quarter of next year, fully functional na ito (this would be fully functional),'' he said.

Marcos said the local government of Tacloban is proposing that big trucks could be allowed to pass through the bridge in the evening, especially if there is no heavy traffic.

He said the experience in repairing the San Juanico Bridge should serve as a lesson for the next administrators and government workers regarding the proper maintenance of infrastructure projects.

''The retrofit... P1.1 billion. That is money that we could have saved if proper maintenance was carried out on San Juanico. We would not have to do any of this kung 'yung every three years iniinspeksyun, inaayos (We would not have to do any of this if inspections and repairs were done every three years),'' Marcos said.

Built in 1969 and completed in 1973, the San Juanico Bridge is the third-longest bridge spanning a body of seawater in the Philippines, connecting the islands of Samar and Leyte. — VDV, GMA Integrated News