The opening of the Panguil Bay Bridge may have benefitted travelers - cutting substantially the travel time between Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental - but it not without negative effects.

Several businesses at the Mukas Port in Lanao del Norte have folded up and ambulant vendors saw a decline in their income.

The Mukas Port was one of the busiest ports in Northern Mindanao before the Panguil Bay Bridge was opened on September 27, 2024.

“Buntag pa lang, dagko na… tinuod gyud, dili na ikalimod mahalinan gyud mi, makabayad mi sa among utang, makapalit mi pagkaon, makatabang pa gyud to sauna… karon, dili na gyud makatabang namo,” a vendor, Neneng Doncillo, said.

Travelers used to ride a roll-on-/roll-off (RoRo) ship at the port to get to Misamis Occidental from Lanao del Norte for about an hour and a half.

But with the opening of the 3.17-kilometer bridge, the travel distance was cut to around seven minutes.

“Mao lage ni nahitabo sa amo karon sukad nag-open ang bridge… dako kaayo apektado ang Mukas… dili lang Mukas, apil ang Ozamiz nga mga driver sa motor, mga vendors tanan dgahan na down labi na diri sa Mukas dako gyud kahugnoan,” Doncillo added.

The Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) of Lanao del Norte has conducted profiling to provide intervention to the vendors affected.

The port operation still continues.

The national government allocated P7.3 billion for the bridge project through a loan agreement between the governments of the Philippines and South Korea.