By CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN
SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — A bridge that began with a ₱920-million price tag nearly seven years ago has turned into a towering symbol of delay, confusion and escalating cost.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) now estimates that more than ₱2 billion is needed to finally complete the unfinished Esperanza Bridge in Esperanza, Agusan del Sur — a structure that today remains nothing more than scattered concrete pillars.
Launched in 2018, the project along the Bayugan–Esperanza Road has barely progressed beyond its first phase.
A site visit on October 28 by the Davao City-based watchdog Philippine Anti-Corruption Czar (PACC) has revealed the same sight residents have long grown tired of : isolated piers rising from the Agusan River floodplain, overgrown with vegetation, flanked by soggy farmland, and surrounded by river debris.
There is no bridge deck, no abutments, no superstructure, and no usable approach roads.
Still, DPWH continues to tag the project as “ongoing.”
Amid public frustration, the local government of Esperanza issued a formal clarification, distancing itself from the stalled project.
In its statement posted in social media dated October 29, the LGU said:“The Local Government Unit of Esperanza has no participation whatsoever in the procurement, design, or implementation of this project, which is fully undertaken by the national government through the DPWH.”
The municipality added that it welcomed investigations into the bridge, saying it hopes ongoing scrutiny will “shed light on the truth” and help counter misinformation.
It emphasized that providing accurate information is crucial to “achieving correct justice and public service.”
PACC chairman Louie F. Ceniza said in a post on their social media page that he was alarmed by the minimal accomplishment, describing the visible structures as “posts without purpose.”
According to Ceniza, the ₱920 million already released does not correspond to what has been built so far.
He pointed to what he called serious design flaws, weak supervision and questionable spending, citing major inconsistencies between the engineering plans and actual site progress.
Engineers who accompanied the inspection said the bridge appeared grossly over-engineered for a secondary road.
They said the structural design resembled that of major expressways such as the Maharlika Highway, despite Esperanza’s modest traffic demand.
Some independent experts who joined the inspection argued that the government could have completed the bridge at a fraction of the cost if the design had been more practical.
They said that instead of a long viaduct-type structure across marshland, a more efficient solution would have been to build a one-kilometer raised dike or embankment leading to a shorter bridge directly crossing the Agusan River — a design they estimated would cost around ₱300 million.
PACC’s findings also highlighted fragmented implementation, including repeated awards of similar bored-pile contracts without synchronized planning.
This, the group said, resulted in misaligned piers, disjointed work phases and delays worsened by poor coordination among DPWH divisions and erratic funding releases.
DPWH Caraga Information Officer Connie Calo clarified in an interview with Inquirer that no personnel from the regional office accompanied the PACC inspection, indicating it was conducted independently.
However, DPWH has issued no public explanation for the prolonged inaction, the rising cost requirements, or the absence of tangible progress.
Based on DPWH record, the main contractor of the project was Butuan City-based ADFIL Corporation. Inquirer tried to contact the company’s office, but to no avail.
Transparency concerns have been heightened by the agency’s failure to release contracts, progress reports or funding details requested by this reporter through a Freedom of Information (FOI) petition filed almost two months ago.
The request has received only automated acknowledgments.
Residents, who have long hoped the bridge would ease travel to Bayugan and improve access to the highway network, say they have grown skeptical after years of assurances that construction would soon resume.
Many now see the idle pillars as proof of a project that has stalled both on the ground and on paper.
With the DPWH estimating the remaining work at over ₱2 billion, the Esperanza Bridge is shaping up to be one of the most expensive yet least accomplished projects in the region — and one that continues to raise urgent questions about planning, accountability and the fate of public funds.
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