October 7, 2025
MANILA – Piggatan Bridge in the municipality of Alcala in Cagayan collapsed Monday afternoon, becoming the second bridge to collapse in the Cagayan Valley region this year.
In a Facebook post, the Cagayan Provincial Information Office said the bridge collapsed while several ten-wheeler trucks were passing.
Cagayan Gov. Edgar Aglipay, who inspected the collapsed bridge site later in the evening, noted that trucks on the bridge were loaded with agricultural goods.
“At this point in time, it is harvest season in Cagayan,” Aglipay said in a video address posted in Cagayan Provincial Information Office.
Overloaded?
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) noted that three loaded trucks—each with an estimated weight of 50 tons—were on the bridge at the time.
This far exceeds the 18-ton capacity of the bridge “which seems to have caused the structure to collapse,” according to the DPWH.
DPWH said Secretary Vince Dizon has immediately dispatched a team to conduct thorough damage assessment.
The 74.70-meter permanent steel bridge was in good overall condition as of October 2024, according to the DPWH Atlas for 2024.
Underdesigned
Last February, the newly retrofitted Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela province collapsed, hurting six people while also leading to the fall of four cars into the Cagayan River.
DPWH’s assessment revealed that the Sta. Maria-Cabagan bridge suffered from “under-design,” which refers to a situation where a structure, system, or component is designed with insufficient capacity, strength, or performance to meet expected loads, stresses, or operational requirements.
The Piggatan Bridge collapse came amid a major corruption scandal involving anomalous infrastructure projects that has prompted aSenate blue ribbon committee probe and the formation of an independent commission to investigate the suspected collusion between lawmakers, government officials, and contractors.
During one of the Senate blue-ribbon committee hearings, former DPWH assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez said all projects in Bulacan first district are “underdesigned.”
Hernandez said they were made that way as budget requests were allegedly increased to accommodate larger kickbacks allegedly required by politicians who are proponents of such projects.