Contrary to claims made by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that the Panguil Bay Bridge is part of President Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” centerpiece infrastructure program, the project was initiated and approved during the administration of the late President Benigno Aquino III.
In a news item posted on its website on June 2, 2022 and titled “Construction of Mindanao’s Longest Bridge Now Halfway Done,” the DPWH said the project is “listed among the 119 infrastructure flagship projects under the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program.” http://(https://www.dpwh.gov.ph/dpwh/news/26522)
However, it was during the previous administration that the Philippine government secured funding for the project through a loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of Korea-Economic Development Cooperation Fund (KEXIM-EDCF). The agreement was signed on April 28, 2016.
In fact, the signing of the loan agreement for Mindanao’s would-be longest bridge was posted on the DPWH website on June 10, 2016, shortly before Aquino III stepped down from power. (https://www.dpwh.gov.ph/dpwh/news/777)
“With an estimated cost of PHP 4.859 billion, PHP 4.272 billion is to be funded by KEXIM-EDCF, while the remaining PHP 587 million will be funded by the Philippine national budget,” the June 10, 2016 news item on the agency’s website said.
“Discussions on the Panguil Bay Bridge project began in 2014. This was proposed to connect the Municipality of Tubod in Lanao del Norte and the City of Tangub in Misamis Occidental trimming down travel time to seven minutes from the usual 2.5 hours, which includes the waiting time and the queueing at the port,” it added.
The DPWH did not cite these details in its June 2, 2022 post.
The agency said the project “will not only reduce travel time but will also improve the transport of goods and services in connecting municipalities. Moreover, it shall boost the region’s advantage as the most competitive, efficient and attractive transhipment hub, and venue for industrial ventures in Southern Philippines.”
“Targeted for completion by December 2023, the Panguil Bay Bridge Project will make commuting easier as it will only take seven minutes from Tangub to Tubod compared to one hour and 30 minutes via Roll-On Roll-Off vessels operating from Ozamis to Mucas or land travel through Panguil Bay road of two to two-and-a- half hours over a total length of 100 kilometers,” it said. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)
(This fact-check piece was produced with the support of Internews’ Philippine Fact-Checker Incubator Project.)
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