The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Office 2 said that further analysis of the cause behind the Cabagan-Santa Maria bridge’s cause of failure is still ongoing.
In a statement on Friday, February 28, the DPWH Regional Office No. II said that around 8 PM, the third span from the right side of the bridge collapsed after a dump truck carrying boulders passed by. It had an approximate gross vehicle weight (GVW) of around 102 tons.
The DPWH Regional Office said construction began in November 2014 and was completed on February 1, 2025, at P1.225 billion.
The total length of the bridge is 990m consisting of 12 Arch Bridge with a span of 60m and nine spans of Pre-Stressed Concrete Girder (PSCG) Type IVB and 664.10 ln. M.
“Further analysis on the cause of failure is still on-going and DPWH Region 2 has requested experts from the Bureau of Design and Bureau of Construction in the Central Office to conduct further evaluation and assessment,” the DPWH Regional Office No. II said.
The Dump Truck’s Weight
Meanwhile, in a Damdaming Bayan exclusive on Friday, the DPWH Region 2 Regional Director Mathias Malenab said their initial assessment found that the dump truck may be the cause of why a portion of the bridge had collapsed.
“Based sa initial assessment namin kagabi, nung pumunta ako together with my engineer, nakita po namin yung isang dump truck na probably the cause of the pagbagsak ng ating tulay,” Malenab said.
Based on their computation, the truck carried at least 87.39 tons, with an additional 15 tons of standard vehicle weight. Meaning that it’s calculated gross vehicle weight of the dump truck is around 102.39 tons.
Malenab said there were also no issues found on the bridge’s foundation, and assured that the incident was caused by the dump truck’s weight. Although they had already completed the construction of the bridge, the regional director said it is only currently open to light vehicles.
He also stated that the bridge was retrofitted due to a change in its design code.
“Nung dinesign yung tulay ang existing code is yung 1998 po. And then because of the series of earthquakes na nangyari no’n, upgrade niya to 2015 na updated code na ginagamit natin,” he said.
“‘Yun po ang dahilan kaya nag retrofit tayo, and kung mapapansin nga natin po, including other bridges nationwide, nagre-retrofit tayo,” he continued.
The standard maximum weight for vehicles to pass by the bridge is 45 tons. With this, he said that the truck was over the recommended weight when it crossed the bridge.
Assessing the Bridge
Despite this, Malenab assured the bridge was constructed based on specifications.
“Hindi naman po [sub-standard yung tulay]. Kasi ito naman ay was constructed based on some specification, at yung mga test naman nito ay pumasa naman po, wala naman po naging problema,” he assured.
With this, the regional director stated they would continue their assessment, as the engineer from the Bureau of Design and the Bureau of Construction from their central office had just arrived.
“Ongoing yung naging assessment namin, kasi kararating lang ng mga engineer natin from Bureau of Design at Bureau of Construction from our central office, para ganon ay ma assess mabuti kung ano yung cause of failure ng ating structure because of that overweight [dump truck],” he said.
“In a few days po, we will issue yung mga important na data regarding the incident,” he added.
Malenab said the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela province is a project of the Philippine government and was funded under the General Appropriations Act (GAA). Despite this, he assured the public they are up for an investigation if the situation demands.
“We are ready [to be investigated] in the name of public service, transparency, and accountability, we are open to any investigation,” he said.
“In fact, gusto namin na yung mga expert namin from central office to assess really kung ano yung dahilan ng pagfail ng ating istraktura,” he continued.
On Thursday evening, the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela province collapsed, injuring six people. Malenab said authorities suspect that the truck probably came from the western part of the region, citing Cagayan or Isabela.
