A video showing the final moments before Zamboanga City footbridge collapses, plunging visiting local officials and lawmakers into the murky waters below goes viral recently.
They say, government spent around P12 million for the wooden foot bridge at a resettlement site in Zamboanga City that collapsed during an inspection of last week.
“I was surprised that it cost P12 million,” said Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Benitez, chairman of the House committee on housing and urban development.
Benitez, Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat, Mayor Isabelle Climaco-Salazar and local officials of the National Housing Authority (NHA) fell into murky water when the footbridge collapsed.
Benitez vowed to conduct an investigation into the incident when Congress resumes session.
Aside from this, Benitez bared that the housing on stilts that they were investigating cost only P20,000 less than concrete housing units.
"Ordinarily, yung isang housing unit na tinatayo ng NHA sa lupa na semento umaabot ng P240,000 per unit. Dito sa house on stilts na ininspection natin, ang cost niya ay P220,000. Mas mura lang nang P20,000," he said.
The houses on stilts were intended for the Badjao community living in the area, who traditionally preferred their houses built along the seawall.
Benitez has earlier revealed in a News To Go interview that the materials used in the wooden footbridge were the same as those used in the house on stilts.
Because of this, it was not impossible that the houses on stilts may also collapse, he said.
These, among other things, will be the subject of the investigation of his committee as soon as Congress resumes session, Benitez said.
Citing the computation of the NHA, Lobregat said around P1 billion would be needed to replace all wooden foot bridges in resettlement sites.
He said there are around 25 kilometers of wooden foot bridges in seven resettlement sites.
The NHA said more than P367 million would be needed to replace main foot bridges and around P600 million for those connecting houses on stilts. “We are after of the safety of the victims of the Zamboanga siege... Definitely, those wooden bridges will have to be replaced,” Lobregat said.
He said the foot bridges should be replaced with concrete to make it resilient to wear and tear.
"Pagbalik na pagbalik, naghihintay na lang ako ng bakanteng kwarto sa Congress," Benitez said of the timeline of his panel's investigation.
Among those who will be called to shed light on the incident are officials from the NHA and the Department of Public Works and Highways, he added.
Watch the video below:
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