Duterte to DPWH: Where’s the new bridge?

DAVAO CITY – City residents are asking where is the bridge that the national government promised to build in place of the old Generoso Bridge at the Bankerohan public market that collapsed in 2006.

“I am at a loss for words how to explain to the people how many times I have asked the national government and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) about the construction of a new bridge. But still, until now, not a single work has been started,” Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said.

The Generoso Bridge, built in the 1950s, was considered a vital link connecting the downtown area to the southern parts of the city. It collapsed in 2006 due to wear and tear.

Duterte said President Arroyo, in a visit here last year, told him that the construction of the new bridge could be delayed to correct an alleged anomaly in the project.

“But until now, we are still waiting for the DPWH to work on the bridge,” Duterte said, citing earlier reported claims by the department that the project would be finished by April this year.

Duterte explained that there is a law that prohibits local government units to intervene in projects implemented on national roads and even on barangay roads.

“We do not have control over national roads and it so happened that the bridge is part of a national road and is supposed to be a national project,” he said.

Even if the city government has the money to construct a new bridge, Duterte said it still could not do so because of such a prohibition.

He said the city government could not proceed with its ongoing traffic signalization project because of an important connection that the new bridge would provide.

“The city could source out money on its own but the problem is the bridge is on a national road, hence, the DPWH should take care of it as the law provides,” he said.