Pres. Bongbong Marcos Reacts To Cabagan-Isabela Bridge Collapse
BONGBONG MARCOS – The President blamed the design of the Cabagan-Isabela bridge and the slicing of its budget over its recent collapse.
The collapse of the Cabagan-Isabela bridge gained different reactions from the netizens on social media. Undeniably, a lot of the Filipino members of the online community would either poke fun at the incident or express their disappointment over the collapse of a bridge that was completed just around a month ago.
It was night time when the bridge collapsed. Four vehicles including a truck carrying boulders, two (2) SUVs, and a motorcycle were crossing the bridge when the incident happened. Following the collapse, the vehicles plunged into the river below.
Six (6) people including two (2) children were hurt from the incident. The DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) in Region 2 said that the passing of the truck considering its weight could have led to the collapse of the accident.
The vehicle carrying boulders was estimated with a total weight of 102 tons which can be an excessive load for the capacity of the structure. It could be a factor that has led to structural failure.
The authorities are conducting an investigation on the collapse of the Cabagan-Isabela bridge. The experts from the Bureau of Design and Bureau of Construction are investigating the incident involving the bridge.
The construction of the bridge started in November 2024 and it was only completed last February 2025. According to Pres. Bongbong Marcos, the “design flaw” and the budget cut are to be blamed over the collapse of the Cabagan-Isabela bridge.
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Pres. Bongbong Marcos said that “design flaw” is allegedly the main root of the collapse of the bridge in Isabela. According to him, it should have been a hanged suspension bridge using cables.
“It is a design flaw, mali yung design. The design is really weak dahil kung tutuusin ninyo, this is supposed to be a suspension bridge, nakasabit,” he said.
Pres. Bongbong Marcos also revealed that the original cost of the Isabela bridge was at P1.8 billion and was later cut to P900 million. Based on the report, the Chief Executive said that the government would have to spend again following what happened.
“So yung nagtitipid tayo, tinipid natin na P1.8 billion, useless. Ngayon babalik na naman tayo, gagastos na naman tayo ng malaki. Papalitan natin yang mga support, parang nagtayo na naman tayo ng bagong tulay,” Marcos Jr. said.
Following the accident, former Sen. Ping Lacson called for accountability following the collapse of the bridge in Isabela that left many people including kids injured.