Why are bridges in the Philippines collapsing? Let's take a look at five cases from this year and see what we can learn. We shall do this in chronological order.
April 29th, 2022
An old, earthquake-damaged bridge collapsed under heavy traffic in a central Philippine town, sending about a dozen vehicles plummeting into the river below and killing at least four people, officials said Thursday.
Regional police chief Brig. Gen. Roque Eduardo Vega said an initial investigation showed the bridge gave way under the weight of vehicles stuck in a traffic jam on it, including a truck loaded with sand and gravel to be used in the construction of a nearby bridge.
“The weight of the truck and its cargo caused serious tension to the bridge that caused its collapse,” Vega told reporters.
The bridge that collapsed had been damaged by a 2013 earthquake that devastated Bohol, but authorities allowed its temporary use while another bridge was being constructed, police said.
This bridge was earthquake-damaged but was still allowed to be used while another bridge was being constructed. The nature of the damage is not stated but how is it that in 9 years a new bridge had not been built or the old one fixed? That is unconscionable. The straw that broke the bridge's back was a truck which may or may not have been overloaded but certainly strained the bridge to the point of collapsing.
June 15, 2022
A personnel of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and its two on-the-job trainees (OJTs) were injured after a hanging bridge they were crossing collapsed in Barangay Latazon in the Municipality of Laua-an on Wednesday.
Antique Trade and Industry development specialist Glen Fernando, in an interview on Thursday, identified the injured as information technology personnel John Michael Villabert and OJTs Arlene Bangcaya of Barangay Necesito and Allyn Joy Necor of Barangay Intao, all from the said municipality.
Antique Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) Officer Broderick Train, in a separate interview, said the Municipal DRRMO of Laua-an was able to respond immediately to the scene.
“The cemented post of the hanging bridge toppled while its cable wire has collapsed that caused the accident,” he said.
The bridge collapsed due to overloading, according to Train.
“Villabert and the two OJTs were crossing the hanging bridge ahead of (Provincial) Director Dinda Tamayo when the Latazon hanging bridge gave way that caused the accident,” Fernando said in an interview.
This was only a pedestrian bridge but the cause given for the collapse is that it was overloaded. If a suspension bridge cannot be built that can handle the weight of three people that is definitely a problem.
June 16, 2022
Nobody was harmed as the Borja Bridge in Barangay Algeria, Catigbian, Bohol buckled while a 12-wheel truck was passing Thursday, June 16.
The Catigbian Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CMDRRMO) said the truck bound for Ubay was loaded with sand when it crossed the bridge.
According to Jake Maglajos of the CMDRRMO, the truck was believed to be over the bridge’s weight limit of 20 tons, causing the structure to collapse. The driver of the truck escaped unscathed.
Maglajos said the bridge is already old and half of its lane was closed after a one-inch gap in its abutment was discovered.
The bridge, which was damaged when a strong earthquake rocked Bohol in 2013, collapsed less than two months after that in Loay, Bohol.
This is another earthquake-damaged bridge which was allowed to be in use despite authorities knowing the bridge was unsafe. Like the previous bridge it collapsed under the weight of an overloaded truck.
September 26, 2022
A 10-wheeler truck transporting tons of quarry materials is being linked to the collapse of a steel bridge at the boundary of Sibalom and Hamtic towns in Antique province on Monday.
The truck driven by Eljohn Orbigoso was on its way to Pavia town in Iloilo province from Sibalom when it passed by the Buhang-Egaña bridge around 3 a.m. Monday, said Sibalom Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer (MDRRMO) Joel Odango in an interview.
The bridge load limit is said to be only up to 10 tons, but the truck was reportedly carrying around 30 tons of quarry materials.
“The truckload was over tonnage,” Odango said.
“We are still waiting for the DPWH investigation, which we hope would soon release its report, about the real cause of the collapse of the bridge so to know the liability of the driver or the person that had hired the truck,” he said.
The reason for collapse is said to be an overloaded truck but the MDRRMO spokesman says they are waiting fo the full DPWH investigation so they can know the real cause of the collapse. Perhaps it was not structurally sound.
October 20, 2022
A portion of a bridge in Bayambang, Pangasinan has collapsed due to overloaded trucks crossing the bridge, the city mayor said on Thursday.
Two trucks were on the Carlos P. Romulo Bridge when it caved in at 3:37 p.m. in Barangay Wawa, according to Bayambang Mayor Niña Jose-Quiambao.
“Ang nangyari pong insidenteng ito ay dahil sa overload ng trucks na dumadaan sa ating bridge,” the mayor said in a Facebook video.
[Translation: This incident happened due to the overload of trucks passing over our bridge.]
"We also ask for the patience and cooperation of each and everyone as we rise above the situation,” she added.
What does it mean they will "rise above the situation?" Will the companies who own the overloaded trucks be held responsible? Will the DPWH launch a thorough investigation into the structural integrity of the bridge to rule out all causes? Will anyone be held accountable for a situation that need not have happened?
Let's look at one more collapsed bridge from last year.
August 2, 2021
A bridge in Barangay Balabag, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental was temporarily closed to people and motorists pending its repair after it collapsed while three vehicles were crossing last Sunday, Aug. 1.
The incident was first reported to be in Hacienda La Plata, Purok Bagumbayan, Barangay Don Jorge L. Araneta, Bago City, but upon the conversation of Bago City Mayor Nicholas Yulo and La Carlota City Mayor Dr. Rex Jalando-on, it was found out that it is not in the inventory of bridges under the City of Bago.
A girl suffered minor injuries while 15 persons were rescued from three vehicles crossing the bridge.
Police Lt. Joseph Jaro, deputy police chief of Bago City, said the three vehicles were on a convoy from Pontevedra, Negros Occidental to Barangay Don Jorge L. Araneta for a ministry event when the bridge collapsed while they were in the middle.
The convoy was composed of three vehicles, Jaro said – an Isuzu Crosswind with six persons onboard driven by Christopher Trupa; a Hyundai Accent sedan driven by Anthony Ciocon with no passengers; and an Isuzu pickup truck driven by Ruel Magallanes with six passengers.
Jaro said the bridge could no longer carry more than one vehicle because it was already dilapidated. He said there was no sign placed near the bridge warning motorists to refrain from passing beyond the allowed weight of a vehicle.
He said a girl, who was crossing the bridge, sustained minor injuries, as she was walking in the middle when it collapsed. She was taken and later discharged from the hospital.
This bridge also collapsed due to overloading. However, the authorities knew it to be structurally unsound but no warning sign was placed near the bridge.
Two footbridges collapsed in Iloilo in 2017. The first in February and the second in November. On April 27, 2018 in Zamboanga two bridges collapsed due to the use of substandard materials.
Zamboanga City Mayor Beng Climaco blames the National Housing Authority (NHA) for a bridge mishap at a housing site.
Climaco was inspecting projects under the Zamboanga City Roadmap to Recovery and Reconstruction (Z3R) in Brgy. Mariki when a portion of a wooden footbridge collapsed.
The Mayor fell into the water with Negros Occidental Representative Albee Benitez, Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat, and other local officials.
In an interview on CNN Philippines Balitaan, Climaco said what happened to them was not the only mishap in the housing area.
"A few minutes later, another bridge fell in that same site," she explained.
Climaco said she does not want these to happen to recipients of the units.
"We became ourselves, first-hand victims of the utilization of substandard materials and building projects," she said.
During the recent typhoon Paeng seven bridges in the Western Visayas collapsed .
Are bridges in Western Visayas robust and climate-resilient?
At least seven bridges in the region were damaged by Tropical Storm “Paeng” over the weekend.
One bridge in Aklan, four in Antique, one in Iloilo, and another in Negros Occidental incurred varying degrees of damage due to flooding caused by torrential rains, initial data from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) showed.
It was unclear as of this writing how old those damaged bridges were.
DPWH Region 6 has also yet to clarify how often does it inspect bridges and how regular does it conduct bridge maintenance activities.
It seems the biggest contributing factor to bridges collapsing is overloading. The truck companies which own the overloaded trucks must be held accountable for allowing such a dangerous practice. The second problem is the lack of structural integrity. That bridges damaged by earthquakes are allowed to be in operation 9 years after the fact is unconscionable. The solution is for the DPWH to run an annual or bi-annual check on all bridges to make sure they are safe. That is what Senator Pimentel is calling for.
Senate Minority Floor Leader Koko Pimentel is calling for a safety inspection of the bridges nationwide following the recent collapse of a bridge in Pangasinan which left four persons injured.
“Are all our bridges still safe?” Pimentel said in a statement as he cited other cases of bridges collapsing like the Borja Bridge in Catigbian, Kulafu River Bridge in Davao City, a bridge in Majayjay, Laguna and Clarin Bridge over Lobo River in Loay, Bohol.
“I am worried. The incidents are very alarming. They put doubt on the structural integrity and safety of all our bridges. It is time to evaluate the safety of our bridges,” he added.
According to Pimentel, the government should start ordering an investigation especially after the collapse of Clarin Bridge in Bohol that killed four people and injured 15 more.
“Whether it is a local bridge or a DPWH-constructed and -maintained bridge, the government should order a probe and a thorough and detailed assessment of the overall safety of our bridges led by the DPWH,” Pimentel said.
He added that a regular assessment by the DPWH could prevent any similar incidents from occurring again, as he explained that nothing prevents the DPWH from setting aside some funds from their budget to inspect and rehabilitate local bridges.
With proper engineering and safety measures in place there really is no excuse for bridges in the Philippines to collapse.
