Cebu — Seven months after a devastating magnitude 6.9 earthquake crippled northern Cebu, the Provincial Government has officially launched full-scale rehabilitation efforts for 13 critical bridges. The multi-million-peso civil works, concentrated heavily across the province’s fourth and fifth districts, are slated for a strict six-month completion timeline to restore vital economic lifelines. Head of the Provincial Engineering Office, Hector Jamora, confirmed that while contracts were awarded earlier in March, physical construction was intentionally paused to allow for ground stabilization. Aggravated by unrelenting aftershocks and the severe structural impact of Typhoon Tino late last year, engineers prioritized extensive site assessments before pouring permanent concrete.
Strategic Budget Allocations Across Quake-Hit Towns
The ₱253.9 million infrastructure fund has been systematically divided by the Capitol to address varying degrees of structural failure in the hardest-hit municipalities. In the initial phase, a ₱94.2 million subset is actively covering massive restorations on four lifelines, notably the Poblacion Borbon Bridges I and II (costing ₱38.9 million and ₱7.2 million respectively), the Tabunan Bridges, and Sogod's Calumboyan Bridge. Meanwhile, a larger ₱159.7 million allocation is dedicated to rebuilding eight other vital links, including the heavily utilized Poblacion-Suba Bridge in Daanbantayan and the Guadalupe Bridge in Bogo City. By separating these projects into manageable geographic bundles, the provincial government aims to ensure meticulous quality control while simultaneously easing localized traffic detours.
Simultaneous Works Fuel the 'Build Back Better' Campaign
To completely bypass prolonged logistics delays, the province has deployed three prominent contractors—WTG, Lcting Construction, and Jfap—to execute the bridge restorations concurrently. This aggressive strategy directly supports Governor Pamela Baricuatro’s overarching three-year, ₱708.1 million master recovery blueprint designed to fortify northern Cebu against future seismic anomalies. Operating under a comprehensive "Build Back Better and Smarter" framework, engineers are utilizing updated multi-hazard fault maps and advanced construction aggregates to repair part of the ₱9.24 billion in total provincial physical damage. As these initial 13 structures near completion, the Capitol is already preparing its subsequent 2026 budget phases to address additional compromised spans in Aloguinsan, Ginatilan, and Compostela.
