President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos attributed the collapse of the 60-meter portion of the Cabagan-Sta. Maria Bridge to a “design flaw” caused by budget cuts from previous administrations.

“Ang puno’t dulo nito, design flaw. It is a design flaw. Mali ‘yung design. Ang history kasi nito dapat ang funding nito is supposed to be P1.8 billion so binawasan to under 1 billion para makamura… Design is really weak,” Marcos Jr. said after his inspection along with Isabela Governor Rodito T. Albano and other local officials,on March 6.

He added that additional expenses for retrofitting due to structural issues raised the total cost to P1.2 billion.

Marcos also said, “Ito lang ang suspension bridge na nakita ko sa buong mundo na hindi kable, at ‘yan na mismo ang bumigay.”

He mentioned that a more “detailed design” is being developed, and the entire bridge would require another round of retrofitting.

Designed to accommodate vehicles up to 44 tons, the national bridge collapsed on February 27, 2025, when a dump truck carrying boulders, with an estimated gross vehicle weight of 102 tons, passed over it. The incident left six individuals injured. (From Isabela PIO post)