[FILE PHOTO] A bridge in Pulangbato, Cebu Metropolis, has corroded and is threatening to break down. | Picture Courtesy of the CDRRMO
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Mayor Nestor Archival Sr. vowed to finish the Pulangbato bridge by December this 12 months.
This follows a web site inspection that exposed not simply the stalled building however the life-threatening actuality confronted day by day by locals, a lot of whom depend on a precarious bamboo footbridge to succeed in colleges, houses, and neighboring barangays.
“Gusto nato nga mahuman na na; pinaskohan na nato sa mga tawo sa mountain barangay,” Archival mentioned in a current interview.
(We would like that to be accomplished; that can be our Christmas present to the folks within the mountain barangay.)
READ: Metropolis Corridor seeks emergency procurement for long-delayed Pulangbato Bridge
On July 13, Archival visited the realm simply hours after a 21-year-old hiker reportedly drowned at a close-by waterfall in Barangay Budlaan. The hiker was swept away by a swollen river throughout heavy rains. Three different hikers have been rescued after being stranded in a single day on boulders.
Archival mentioned the incident highlights broader public security issues stemming from inaccessible and unsafe routes in upland areas.
“Dili ta ganahan nga naa nasay sunod nga madisgrasya,” he mentioned.
(We don’t need that there can be an accident that can occur)
“Ang tubig musaka, maigo gyud ang bridge,” Archival mentioned.
(When the water rises, the bridge would actually be affected.)
READ: DPWH hastens San Juanico Bridge restore
A long time of delay, lives in danger
The bolstered deck girder bridge connecting Sitio Candarong to Tanay Highway in Barangay Pulangbato was destroyed by Storm Odette in December 2021.
Regardless of a P24-million contract awarded in 2023, the challenge has remained unfinished, a part of what Archival described as a 20-year drawback for residents in Pulangbato and surrounding barangays like Pit-os, Guba, Agsungot, Lusaran, and Sirao.
The scenario worsened after the challenge’s first contractor, SBD Builders Inc., failed to fulfill deadlines. As of July, work was solely 36.02 % full, far delayed and with a “detrimental slippage” of 63.98 %, in keeping with barangay officers.
Archival cited the contractor’s lack of apparatus and poor efficiency, together with its controversial involvement within the Cebu Metropolis Sports activities Heart observe oval challenge, as key causes for the contract’s termination.
Emergency declaration, sluggish progress
In response to persistent barangay calls, the Cebu Metropolis Council beforehand declared a state of emergency in Pulangbato on April 30, 2025, to fast-track the halted challenge. An extra P28 million was additionally authorized to cowl rising materials prices, as solely P17 million remained from the unique finances.
Nonetheless, whereas the emergency declaration permits for quicker procurement, the Metropolis Council expressed reservations amid issues over accountability and previous controversies involving emergency funds underneath former Mayor Michael Rama.
As of this week, the challenge stays idle. A brand new contractor has already been recognized by way of a rebidding course of, however no Discover to Proceed (NTP) has been issued.
“Ang akong tan-awon karon mao gyud ang NTP (What I’ll look into now could be the NTP),” Archival mentioned. He’s scheduled to fulfill with the Division of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW) this week to make clear the timeline and make sure the contractor is able to mobilize.
READ: Constructing bridges for ‘One Visayas’
Accountability
The mayor’s renewed push displays rising public frustration over the town authorities’s sluggish response to pressing infrastructure wants, particularly in disaster-prone and underserved upland areas.
Archival mentioned his administration is set to intently monitor the challenge transferring ahead.
“Two years na nga delay ang challenge, pero kaning problema sa bridge kay 20 years na (That could be a 2 12 months delay of the challenge, however this drawback of the bridge is already 20 years),” he mentioned. “Dili na puwede nga padayon ta’g hulat (It can’t be as a result of we are going to proceed to attend).”
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