Sira-sirang tulay sa bansa, kailan maaayos ng gobyerno? (Full Episode) | Reporter’s Notebook
#ReportersNotebook: “Tulay ng Panganib”
Sira-sira, tagpi-tagpi at delikadong tulay — iyan ang araw-araw na tinatawid ng ilan nating kababayan makapag-aral lang o makaluwas sa kanilang lugar. Ang ilan sa mga tulay na ito, 2014 pa nasira pero hanggang ngayon, ‘di pa rin mapakinabangan ng taumbayan.
Ano nga ba ang ginagawa ng pamahalaan para matugunan ang problemang ito ng mga residente?
Sira-sira, tagpi-tagpi at delikadong tulay — iyan ang araw-araw na tinatawid ng ilan nating kababayan makapag-aral lang o makaluwas sa kanilang lugar. Ang ilan sa mga tulay na ito, 2014 pa nasira pero hanggang ngayon, ‘di pa rin mapakinabangan ng taumbayan.
Ano nga ba ang ginagawa ng pamahalaan para matugunan ang problemang ito ng mga residente?
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FunTranscript
00:00On top of more than 30 steps,
00:23a few students cross a hanging bridge in Sibol Springs, San Miguel, Bulacan.
00:31Christine Joy Blanco, a one-year-old girl,
00:34carefully crosses the bridge as she enters the school.
00:38I noticed that the road was very difficult.
00:41I was afraid that it would collapse.
00:44We didn't walk. We held on to the handrails.
00:48At this point, our bridge is still intact.
00:52That's why it's okay to walk here.
00:55This is the part that is already broken.
00:59It's already moving.
01:01One wrong step and it may fall into the deep and the river will overflow.
01:10In both bridges, some residents are using ropes to climb.
01:16We don't have to walk here.
01:21Can they cross safely?
01:23How did this bridge end up in this situation?
01:32We want to have a bridge so that all the students and residents can cross.
01:41On the other side of the river, another bridge was discovered by a reporter's notebook.
01:48It's broken and there's no longer a hanging bridge.
01:51Only cables and foundations are left on the bridge.
01:56But despite the danger, residents are still trying to cross it
02:01whenever the river is strong.
02:06In the town of Alfonso Castaneda in Nueva Vizcaya,
02:09a video was captured of students crossing a hanging bridge.
02:14Later on, the bridge suddenly collapsed.
02:22Because of the incident, more than 30 students were injured.
02:33In the town of Teresa in Rizal,
02:35another hanging bridge was discovered after a heavy downpour.
02:41This is what happened when a heavy downpour caused the bridge to collapse.
02:56What is the government doing to solve this problem?
03:11In the middle of a bad time in the barangay Sibol Springs,
03:15the children are poor, so we have to remove the hanging bridge.
03:19There's nothing we can do.
03:26Christian Joy, or CJ, is trying to cross the broken hanging bridge.
03:32He's going to attend school.
03:34CJ is trying to cross the broken hanging bridge.
03:37He's going to attend school.
03:40Sometimes, when the river is deep, we cross it.
03:44I just want to tell them to cross it quickly so that we can cross it.
03:56A resident was taken to the place where they are using the food bridge.
04:00As you can see, the residents are having a hard time.
04:04They are trying to go down from the end of the food bridge.
04:10One wrong step and you can fall.
04:14Aside from that, the food bridge itself is really dangerous
04:17because the trees they are stepping on are already broken.
04:23The broken hanging bridge is the only way to cross the school entrance.
04:28It's the only way to go to school if the water level is high in the Madlum River.
04:32It's already closed. We can't go to the side.
04:35We have to hold on to something.
04:37We hold on to something and then we walk.
04:40But CJ is worried about his mother, Chrysantha.
04:47Of course, we are also worried.
04:49Maybe the electricity is broken.
04:51Sometimes, the electricity is really strong.
04:59This is where we walk because we don't have a choice.
05:11Here in Gawin, our bridge is still whole.
05:16That's why it's okay to walk here.
05:19This is the part that is already broken.
05:23It's already moving.
05:28Let's go down there.
05:39I just want to build our school bridge
05:44so that the students won't have a hard time.
05:48It's also dangerous because they might fall.
05:59We don't need to go through here.
06:02The scene that was captured in the video last week is also breathtaking.
06:07Residents can be seen at the other end of the hanging bridge.
06:12Get your bag to the employee.
06:15It will be difficult for them to climb the fallen parts of the bridge.
06:20They will use cables to climb and cross the river.
06:26On our visit to Sibol Springs, San Miguel, Bulacan,
06:31the weather was fine.
06:33That's why residents are using rafts to cross the Madlum River.
06:39The rafts are made of wheels, wooden planks, and old drums.
06:48Later.
06:50One by one, residents and motorcyclists crossed the river
06:55to reach Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan.
07:01Residents pushed the rafts to the other side of the river.
07:07Residents helped to pull the rafts
07:11so that residents can cross the river.
07:15Alvin is 12 years old.
07:17He is one of the rafters.
07:25This is how he earned money to help his family.
07:31Sometimes, I sell rice,
07:36vegetables, sugar, and coffee.
07:40I sell rice, vegetables, sugar, and coffee.
07:42He had several accidents while rafting.
07:48Do you always get hurt?
07:49Yes.
07:50Where?
07:51Here.
07:52Where did it come from?
07:53I slipped while rafting.
07:57Does your wound hurt?
07:58A little.
08:00Alvin stopped in Grade 1 due to poverty.
08:04It's hard for me.
08:05I can't afford to buy rice.
08:09I feel sorry for my parents because they are far away.
08:15But whenever he sees students crossing the river,
08:20I feel jealous.
08:21What do you want to be when you grow up?
08:23A soldier.
08:24I want to train in the jungle.
08:27When no one is riding the raft that Alvin is pushing and pulling,
08:32he forgets that he has to work to swim in the river.
08:43At 5 p.m., it's time for Jane to go home.
08:50Alvin rides the raft to cross the river.
08:55I told them that if they don't return home,
08:59they will have to pay for the raft.
09:02Even if they don't have money,
09:05they have to pay for the raft.
09:08It's dangerous.
09:10They might drown.
09:12Especially if it rains.
09:14The raft doesn't work at night.
09:17It doesn't work at night.
09:20It doesn't work at night.
09:23Maybe that's why they force you to swim in the river.
09:28We also caught a truck that was pushing the raft
09:31while the students were on their way home.
09:34This is the truck.
09:36It's deep.
09:37There are two of them.
09:38One of them has a permit.
09:40The other one doesn't.
09:42It's long.
09:43The truck goes straight to the foot of the mountain.
09:46They go straight to the foot of the mountain.
09:49It's deep.
09:50It's deep.
09:51One of them is on standby over there.
09:54The other one is here.
09:56The students have to ride the raft.
10:02This is the daily struggle of the residents
10:05to cross the river.
10:10We don't need to cross the river.
10:14Stop!
10:17Why did this happen to this raft
10:20in Barangay Cebu Springs?
10:28The story of the CTU leader, Mr. Alberto,
10:30who made the raft in 2013.
10:35He was able to cross the river by motorcycle.
10:38The raft was heavy.
10:42A typhoon hit the village.
10:45It started to deteriorate
10:48after five or six years.
10:54Since then, the raft has not been made in their area.
10:58There are requests,
10:59but the government hasn't made any yet
11:02regarding the request for a concrete raft.
11:06We want to have a concrete raft
11:08so that all the students,
11:11the residents here,
11:12can use it.
11:16In another part of the Madlum River,
11:18reporters discovered
11:20the remains of an old raft.
11:25In 2013,
11:26GMA Public Affairs released
11:29the story of students crossing the river
11:32using ropes.
11:36They crossed the Monkey Bridge alive.
11:40Five children were crossing the bridge.
11:42Those who can reach the cable
11:44were not allowed to cross the bridge.
11:47Those who cannot reach the cable
11:49were not allowed to cross the bridge.
11:51Those who can cross the bridge
11:53were allowed to cross the bridge.
11:57Because of this dangerous situation,
11:59the local government of San Miguel
12:01built the Monkey Bridge.
12:03But a few years later,
12:09the trees were damaged.
12:11That big flood
12:13destroyed that raft.
12:18The cables and ropes were left in the Monkey Bridge
12:22because the raft was not made again.
12:25Some residents were forced
12:27to use the Monkey Bridge again.
12:31We met another resident
12:33who crossed the bridge
12:35using ropes
12:37on the other side of the river.
12:41While others were hoping
12:43to cross the bridge using a raft.
12:45But for Mangkal Rito,
12:47there is no hope to do that.
12:49Well,
12:50according to the government's promise
12:53during the election,
12:55they said that the raft was their first priority.
12:57Sometimes,
12:59they made fun of us.
13:01They promised us that they still wanted to cross the bridge.
13:06The 3rd District Engineering Office
13:08of DPWH Bulacan explained that
13:11they have already raised
13:135 million pesos in the fund
13:15and the new design of the raft has already been started.
13:18But their office is still asking
13:20for additional funds
13:22to start the construction
13:24of a new and safer raft.
13:28The target length is 37 meters.
13:31The design of the Bailey Bridge is ongoing.
13:35We are still figuring out
13:37what will be the total cost of our project.
13:40The target for completion is
13:43to make our documents,
13:46our Program of Work and Plans.
13:49It will start early.
13:54For the broken Hanging Bridge
13:56in CJ and Alvin's area,
13:58we will include it in our
14:00High Priority Project
14:02that is possible to be funded
14:04in the next funding year.
14:07We will just leave it there
14:09on the road, on the river,
14:11the Hanging Bridge.
14:13Because our road
14:16is flooded.
14:19August 28, 2024,
14:21the cellphone video was captured
14:23in the bad weather
14:25in Barangay Prinsa in Teresa Rizal.
14:29The water level in the river
14:31was high because of the flood.
14:33It is also noticeable
14:35that a Hanging Bridge is floating
14:37above the river.
14:39Wow, the bridge is beautiful.
14:41Wow, the water is high.
14:46But after 5 days,
14:48the Hanging Bridge gave up
14:50while the storm was still going on.
14:53The cellphone video also captured
14:55the part of the bridge that was submerged
14:57in the water.
15:03After more than a month
15:05when the bridge was damaged,
15:07the Reporter's Notebook went to the Hanging Bridge.
15:10The foundation was damaged
15:12and the bridge also broke.
15:14This was the bridge
15:16that fell
15:18because of the storm.
15:20Because of the high water level,
15:22this is what happened.
15:24The Hanging Bridge collapsed
15:26in the center support.
15:28The garbage was pushed
15:30by trees and branches.
15:32Even our new riprap
15:34was affected by the high water level.
15:36We experienced that water level
15:38rise like that.
15:41But despite the current condition
15:43of the Hanging Bridge,
15:45some residents are still forced
15:47to come back here.
15:49There's nothing else we can do.
15:51It's too far.
15:53We have to go far.
15:57In fact,
15:59there's a spillway next to the damaged Hanging Bridge
16:01that can also be used.
16:03That's why when it rains,
16:05it's impossible.
16:07Like last week, the water level was high
16:09and the spillway was submerged.
16:11That's why people still use it.
16:13So for the residents,
16:15it's still easy for them to cross the bridge.
16:19This is also their shortcut
16:21to go back home.
16:25Mr. Alderico is one of the residents
16:27who are helping
16:29the damaged Hanging Bridge.
16:31It's a big spillway.
16:33When it rains,
16:35it's hard to cross.
16:37When it rains,
16:39it's hard to cross.
16:41It will take
16:4315 minutes for the alternative
16:45road to reach the town
16:47so that they can bring their belongings.
16:51According to the barangay captain,
16:53the local government
16:55of Teresa Rizal
16:57has already visited the damaged bridge.
16:59When we talked to the engineers
17:01who came here,
17:03we talked about the new design
17:05to make it stronger.
17:07If we're going to raise the water level,
17:09it's better to raise it by 2 meters.
17:11It's a good idea
17:13for us to do this.
17:15It's hard to cross.
17:17It's like a match.
17:19We asked the LGU
17:21of Teresa Rizal
17:23to ask what their plan is
17:25for the damaged Hanging Bridge.
17:27But until now,
17:29they haven't answered us.
17:33Alfonso Castaneda
17:35from Nueva Vizcaya is in town.
17:37Another Hanging Bridge
17:39was suddenly damaged
17:41while the students were crossing.
17:47One of the students,
17:49John Rel Atan,
17:51was 14 years old
17:53when he was crossing
17:55the Hanging Bridge.
17:59But John Rel
18:01was one of the most damaged
18:03due to the accident.
18:05He also needed
18:07an operation to remove
18:09the spleen from his stomach.
18:11My stomach hurts.
18:13That's what will happen to my son.
18:15I can't accept
18:17what happened to him.
18:25Just last week,
18:27John Rel was discharged from the hospital.
18:29He's getting better.
18:31But John Rel's fear
18:33of the accident is growing.
18:35I'm afraid of what happened.
18:37That's why I'm holding his hand
18:39while he's sleeping.
18:45According to the investigation,
18:47the spleen was overloaded.
18:49That's why it was given.
18:51Almost four students
18:53and teachers
18:55crossed the Hanging Bridge at the same time.
18:57Meanwhile,
18:59only five people were able to cross it.
19:01According to the official statement
19:03of the local government of Alfonso Castaneda,
19:05they immediately responded
19:07to the severity of the accident
19:09and gave medical attention
19:11to the injured students.
19:13They also assure
19:15that they will continue to monitor
19:17and provide assistance
19:19to the victims of the accident.
19:21For now,
19:23the construction of the Hanging Bridge
19:25is slowly starting
19:27after the incident.
19:29According to the reports
19:31of the Department of Public Works and Highways
19:33or DPWH,
19:35of the more than 4,000 bridges in the country,
19:37more than 2,000 are considered
19:39to be in good condition.
19:41Almost 2,000 of these bridges
19:43are considered to be in fair condition
19:45or have no major defects
19:47while more than 200 bridges
19:49are considered to be in poor condition
19:51or have major dangers
19:53to the area and its users.
19:55For an expert,
19:57the condition
19:59or structural integrity
20:01of the bridges should be monitored
20:03to avoid accidents
20:05like what happened in Nueva Vizcaya.
20:07Our buildings also have annual inspections.
20:09The same goes for the bridges.
20:11If there is a report
20:13that in an inspection
20:15there is a part that is damaged,
20:17those should be attended to.
20:19Otherwise, it will only get worse.
20:21It should also be noted
20:23that the feasibility study
20:25should be carried out
20:27to ensure that the bridge is strong
20:29and does not just break
20:31when a strong storm passes.
20:33It can't just break
20:35after one year
20:37or replace it after 10 years.
20:39If the roads are poor,
20:41the bridges are poor,
20:43or they are damaged
20:45and not repaired immediately,
20:47we can say that
20:49the local government
20:51is lacking.
20:53That is one of the indicators
20:55that the local government
20:57is doing a good job.
21:03The DPWAs
21:05always help
21:07the needs
21:09of our residents,
21:11especially those who used to live
21:13near the K-Ball.
21:15Hopefully, it will be fixed
21:17for the benefit
21:19of our residents
21:21in the future.
21:23The role of the hanging bridge
21:25is very important
21:27for those who live
21:29in remote areas.
21:31Often,
21:33this is the only way
21:35for them to reach
21:37the economy,
21:39to study,
21:41to work,
21:43and to get other services.
21:45Therefore, in the event of damage,
21:47danger,
21:49may God bless their lives,
21:51their livelihood,
21:53and may they be saved.
21:55Until next Saturday,
21:57I am Maki Pulido.
21:59I am Jun Veneracion,
22:01and this is the Reporter's Notebook.