Benise Balaoing

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. graces the ceremonial switch-on of the San Juanico Aesthetic Lighting Project on October 20, 2022. The 2.16 km San Juanico Bridge, which links the provinces of Samar and Leyte, was built during the administration of the President’s father, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and was funded by Japan’s War Reparations Program. PPA Pool

Article (news)

MARCOS-BRIDGE

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

BASEY, Samar — The national government “can provide some assistance” for truckers who are crossing the San Juanico Strait via roll on-roll off vessels to tame a potential spike in transportation costs for deliveries, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday after inspecting the Amandayehan Port here.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/5/20/what-s-wrong-with-san-juanico-bridge-0946" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">What’s wrong with San Juanico Bridge?</a></div>Cargo trucks have been paying P3,000 for a one-way trip across the strait dividing Samar and Leyte as passage to the San Juanico Bridge has been limited to 3-ton vehicles while the government repairs corroded parts of the 53-year old structure.“We’ll have to talk to the but it is unfortunate, we can&#x27;t. I know it, especially if it is a i am if it is a national entity, I don&#x27;t think that will happen.“I don&#x27;t know how that will work, but inevitably, the transportation costs are going to go up. Somebody has to pay for that, so I don&#x27;t know if it&#x27;s, if it will be shouldered,” he told reporters here.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/5/29/da-seeks-options-as-san-juanico-bridge-closure-halts-agriculture-industry-1250" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DA seeks options as San Juanico Bridge closure halts agriculture industry</a></div>“What can the government do? We can provide some assistance. We certainly can include some assistance, but we cannot cover all of the price increase,” he said.This would not have been the situation if previous administrations regularly checked the bridge’s structural integrity, the President said.“‘Yung tulay maganda pang tignan if you look at it from outside pero ito yung ilalim kalawang kalawang na lahat,” he said.“Hindi ginawa nang mabuti ang maintenance ng tulay. Dapat yan every three years binabalik-balikan. Tinatanong ko sa loob, sa mga local, sa ating mga kababayan kung talagang nagagawa ba noon yung every three years? Mukhang hindi kaya nagkaganito kaya ang inabot namin talagang sira sira na kahit napilitan kami isara kaya&#x27;t biglaan,” he said.The San Juanico Bridge — the Philippines’ longest bridge — was built in the 1970s, under the administration of Marcos Jr.’s father and namesake, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/6/10/marcos-jr-declares-state-of-calamity-in-eastern-visayas-over-san-juanico-bridge-2307" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Marcos Jr. declares state of calamity in Eastern Visayas over San Juanico Bridge mess</a></div>The government earlier said that the 50-year-old structure needs to be rehabilitated immediately after officials found that 3 segments of the critical bridge linking Samar and Leyte islands were deemed unsafe.While the rehabilitation is on going, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has transformed a community fish post into a facility that can receive ro-ro vessels.While each vessel can accommodate between 30-50 cargo trucks per trip, the Amandayehan Port can only receive around 5 ro-ro vessels a day because it only has one ramp, according to data from the Philippine ports authority.The DPWH plans to create more ramps in this port to double its capacity to 500 trucks a day, the President said.The government has spent “more than P50 million,” to upgrade the Amandayehan Port, said DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan told ABS-CBN News.“Winiden namin, minaximize na namin yung area. Siguro kapag natapos tayo by next week sa lahat niyan, siguro mga tatlong vessel ang makakapag-dock,” he said.The DPWH is also looking into capacitating 2 more ports that can accommodate  shuttles for heavy vehicles, he said.Earlier this month, Marcos Jr. had placed Eastern Visayas under a state of calamity for a year as the delivery of basic goods and commodities to and from the region were hampered by the 3-ton load limited on vehicles accessing the San Juanico Bridge.The DPWH hopes to complete refurbishments in the San Juanico Bridge by the end of the year to increase the load limit to 12-tons so that buses and small trucks can pass through, Bonoan said.A second bridge linking Samar and Leyte is also in the pipeline and needs to be completed so before the government can start a total rehabilitation of the San Juanico Bridge, he said.Marcos Jr. said the state of calamity in Eastern Visayas will be lifted “when the traffic has returned to normal.”

The national government “can provide some assistance” for truckers who are crossing the San Juanico Strait via RORO.

The national government “can provide some assistance” for truckers who are crossing the San Juanico Strait via RORO.

Marcos eyes assistance for trucks using RORO vessels to cross San Juanico Strait

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Marcos eyes assistance for trucks using RORO vessels to cross San Juanico Strait

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 11, 2025 04:04 PM PHT

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