Samar loses P20M daily due to San Juanico restrictions

NO TRAFFIC Fewer vehicles are seen traversing the usually packed 2.16-kilometer San Juanico Bridge, which connects Leyte and Samar Islands, on May 20, when a load limit of 3 tons was imposed on May 14 after defects on its foundations were discovered. —Photo courtesy of Proud Bisaya Bai

TACLOBAN CITY, LEYTE, Philippines — The province of Samar is losing at least P20 million per day due to the disruption in the delivery of goods following the load restrictions at the San Juanico Bridge, a vital link between the islands of Leyte and Samar.

Samar Gov. Sharee Ann Tan said that among those affected was the flow of fuel, food, and construction materials to her province, which were mostly brought in from Tacloban City in Leyte, the economic center of the Eastern Visayas region.

According to the governor, her province relies heavily on the supplies from Leyte.

“The San Juanico Bridge is a lifeline for Samar. This situation requires immediate action,” she said.

Tan said she was grateful to the national government for its prompt response to find alternative routes to transport goods to Samar Island, which is composed of the provinces of Samar (formerly Western Samar), Eastern Samar and Northern Samar, following the imposition of a 3-ton weight limit on the San Juanico Bridge due to structural defects discovered on its foundations.

READ: Emergency state up in 3 E. Visayas areas amid San Juanico problem

The national government has been hurrying up the construction of a temporary port in Barangay Amandayehan, Basey, Samar, which will serve as a loading point for commercial trucks unable to cross the bridge. These trucks will be ferried by roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) vessels to a port in Tacloban City.

Alternative route

“This Amandayehan port will serve as a vital link … This setup will help mitigate further economic losses,” Tan added.

The governor said the initiative was made possible through the support of the Philippine Ports Authority and the Maritime Industry Authority following instructions from Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon.

Originally a fish port, Amandayehan required immediate rehabilitation to accommodate Ro-Ro vessels.

“We had to act fast by reinforcing the shores with boulders so that vessels could dock properly,” she said.

According to Tan, contractors doing road works in the province provided the boulders excavated from their sites.

The Amandayehan port will be capable of accommodating at least four vessels, each able to carry 20 trucks per trip, with a travel time of about 30 minutes between Samar and Leyte.

Before the restriction, around 1,400 trucks crossed the 2.16-kilometer San Juanico Bridge daily. Since the load limit took effect on May 15, about 400 trucks have been rerouted through the longer route between Calbayog City in Samar and Ormoc City in Leyte.

The province has been placed under a state of emergency since May 20 due to the severe disruption caused by the bridge’s restriction. A week later, Tacloban City and Eastern Samar also declared a state of emergency to address the economic disruptions caused by the bridge’s load limit.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has also recommended that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. place the whole region in a state of calamity. /cb