TARLAC CITY, Tarlac — Eleven days after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. promised P300 million to repair the heavily damaged Aquino and Agana bridges here, construction on the much-touted temporary Bailey bridge remains stalled.
During the presidential visit on Sept. 2, officials laid out an ambitious timeline: pedestrian traffic over a temporary Bailey bridge was projected to resume within one week, with light vehicles weighing 10 tons or less cleared to cross within two weeks.
Sept. 13 — the Agana Bridge’s collapsed span remains, and there is still no Bailey bridge. The few photos taken by Tarlakenyo.com from Aquino Boulevard overlooking the construction site show several workers and heavy equipment clearing debris from the riverbed. One pile is seen being reinforced.
The slow pace of construction has been compounded by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) media blackout.
Workers at the site have prevented journalists from capturing photos or documenting the ongoing rehabilitation efforts.
“Negative kasi nagiging balita kaya ipinagbabawal ni Engr. Ines,” a site worker who chose to remain anonymous told Tarlakenyo.
Engr. Hermon Ines is the District Engineer of the DPWH 1st Engineering District, headquartered in Parsolingan, Gerona, which holds jurisdictional oversight over Tarlac City. Tarlakenyo.com has reached out to Ines for comments.
The ongoing infrastructure crisis stemmed from severe weather brought by continuous heavy rains and strong river currents at the tail end of August, which triggered the collapse of the 70-year-old Agana Bridge on August 29, just a day after the Ninoy Aquino Bridge’s structural failure.
The Agana Bridge’s collapse proved fatal when a vehicle carrying five passengers plunged into the river; rescue operations subsequently recovered three bodies in Pangasinan, while the driver remains missing. One passenger managed to swim to safety.
During his assessment of the disaster zone on September 2 in Tarlac City, Marcos announced that the national government would funnel P300 million to the local government to fast-track the restoration of the crucial local structures.
“We will be giving P300 million to the local government dahil ito ay local bridge… Siyempre tutulungan natin sa technical aspects that will help them in everything, every way that we can,” Marcos stated during his visit, where he was accompanied by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, Tarlac Representative Cristy Angeles, Governor Christian Yap, and Tarlac City Mayor Susan Yap.
The prolonged disruption continues to impact transportation networks across the province heavily.
Commuters and motorists navigating between western Tarlac and the city center face agonizing detours — routing through San Jose and Capas towns to the south and west, or taking longer passages via Santa Ignacia and Gerona towns to the north.
