The Department of Public Works and Highways installs barriers along San Juanico Bridge on Friday (May 30, 2025) to prevent overtaking of vehicles. Since May 15, vehicles weighing more than three tons have been barred from crossing the weakened bridge, disrupting the transport of essential goods. (PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Eastern Visayas Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) is optimistic that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will approve the recommendation to place the entire region under a state of calamity due to the three-ton load limit imposed on the weakened San Juanico Bridge.
RDRRMC chair Lord Byron Torrecarion said the declaration will allow regional line agencies and local government units to immediately address concerns arising from the limited access of the vital bridge that links Leyte and Samar provinces.
“It will help the region respond right away to the needs of people using the bridge and find ways to maintain the volume of traffic and do repair of the bridge as well,” Torrecarion told the Philippine News Agency in a phone interview Friday.
The imposition of load restrictions since May 15 has stranded more than 200 vehicles and is projected to result in monthly economic losses ranging from PHP300 million to PHP600 million, directly impacting food and fuel supply, delivery of healthcare services, commercial distribution, and regional trade, according to RDRRMC.
On Friday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council recommended to the President declaring the entire Region 8 under a state of calamity “to expedite the release of necessary funds and facilitate immediate repair and rehabilitation of the San Juanico Bridge, thereby restoring vital logistics and public services.”
In Eastern Visayas, the local government units that declared a state of emergency are Samar province and Tacloban City. The provincial DRRMC in Eastern Samar recommended on Thursday the same declaration.
“The declaration will enable the use of the DRRM fund of the national government and quick response funds by our local government units to respond to the crisis,” Torrecarion said.
The RDRRMC earlier passed a resolution to release PHP500 million DRRM funds to finance the immediate repair of the deteriorating bridge foundation.
A declaration of state of calamity is justified if at least 15 percent of the forecasted affected population based on science-based projection needs emergency assistance, and if at least 30 percent of the means of livelihood in agricultural, business and industrial sectors are affected.
Torrecarion said approximately 14,000 vehicles cross the San Juanico Bridge daily, around 10 percent of which are cargo trucks. (PNA)