Only vehicles under three tons are permitted to cross the Liloan Bridge in Southern Leyte, according to an announcement from the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) on Thursday.
The load limit will primarily impact four towns on Panaon Island: Liloan, San Ricardo, Pintuyan, and San Francisco, as stated by RDRRMC chair and Office of Civil Defense regional director Lord Byron Torrecarion. The council is currently developing plans to transport essential goods to these towns.
The Liloan Bridge is a critical part of the nautical highway linking Leyte Island to Mindanao and leads to the Liloan and San Ricardo ports, which facilitate regular Southern Leyte-Surigao roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) trips.
For the past five months, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has enforced a five-ton load limit on the bridge due to damage sustained from a magnitude 5.8 earthquake that struck Southern Leyte on January 23, 2025. The earthquake caused a space gap in the bridge’s steel expansion joint, which has since worsened, prompting the DPWH to further restrict access to heavy vehicles. Trucks traveling to and from Mindanao are advised to use alternative ports in Southern Leyte.
Alternative RoRo ports are available in the towns of Saint Bernard, Maasin, and San Juan, all located in Southern Leyte province.
The DPWH has also announced plans for a six-year construction project to replace the existing 48-year-old Liloan Bridge with a new structure at an estimated cost of PHP5.1 billion. This project will be financed by the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) and the Philippine government. The proposed bridge will span the Panaon Strait, connecting Panaon Island to Leyte Island, and will include a 230-meter cable-stayed main bridge, a 146-meter approach bridge, and a 345-meter approach road, replacing the dilapidated Liloan Bridge.