The usual suspect: Corruption

COMMONSENSE

- MARICHU A. VILLANUEVA

There was not even any earthquake event when the Cabagan-Santa Maria bridge in Isabela collapsed and injured six motorists on the evening of Feb. 27. An alleged overloaded truck was identified as the culprit for causing the newly built suspension bridge to collapse. Incident report has it that a truck weighing 102 tons caused a portion of the bridge to collapse.

Based on the subsequent investigation, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (PBBM) attributed the collapse to the supposed "under design" of the suspension bridge. But this was before he personally inspected the bridge along with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan last March 6.

Known as the no-talk, no-mistake DPWH secretary, he apparently succeeded in convincing PBBM that the contractor could not be faulted. After all, the contractor merely followed the original plan. But DPWH found out that specifications became flawed to conform to the lower budget allocated for the project. "Who's responsible is basically who made the design. Look what happened," PBBM rhetorically asked and replied to his own question.

Albert Cañete, the chief engineer of the firm behind the design of the collapsed bridge, urged statements should be based on the results of a "forensic engineering investigation." Offhand, he insisted the design complied with the specifications set by the DPWH. As designed, it can withstand up to 54 tons, or the equivalent of two trucks weighing 27 tons each.

Given the reputation of the DPWH as among the most-graft prone government agencies, we cannot help but see the bridge collapse as the consequence of whatever corruption went into that project through the years of its construction.

Without benefit of investigation, the immediate suspicion leads us to conclude corruption as the culprit.