Will Panay-Guimaras bridge push through this year? Guimaras to seek Duterte assurance

ILOILO City – Will President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to link the islands of Panay and Guimaras with a bridge push through?

The provincial government of Guimaras wants to know.

Gov. Samuel Gumarin said he would be writing the President to seek assurance.

He expressed concern that the series of recent strong earthquakes in Mindanao that destroyed public infrastructures could change the President’s mind about building a bridge connecting the two Western Visayas islands.

Traveling to Guimaras would be much safer via a bridge, said Guimarin. At present, the island province is accessible only via motorboats.

The proposed Panay-Guimaras bridge is part of the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges Project which is one of the priorities under the Build, Build, Build program of President Duterte.

Calls for the building of a bridge linking Panay/Iloilo City and Guimaras became louder in August last year following the capsizing of three motorboats at the Iloilo Strait where 31 people died.

It had been previously reported that a Chinese firm would be building the Panay-Guimaras bridge and that Filipino tycoon Ramon Ang was also interested.

“Maski sin-o sa ila welcome basta makapatindog lang sang maayo kag konkreto nga bridge that will serve the best interest sang Iloilo kag Guimaras,” said Gumarin.

Following the Iloilo Strait motorboat tragedy in August last year, Sen. Grace Poe filed Senate Resolution No. 75 pressing for the building of the Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge.

Poe stated that of the six provinces of Region 6, “Guimaras has the most disadvantages due to its small size as well as lack of reliable connectivity to the main island of Panay.”

This lack of connectivity, she stressed, not only hinders the economy of Guimaras but also endangers the lives of people “since boat trips are at the mercy of the weather.”

Bridges connecting Panay, Guimaras and Negros were conceptualized during the administration of then President Corazon Aquino but none of the administrations that succeeded hers managed to concretize the plan for lack of funds.

Once realized, the proposed bridge connecting Panay and Guimaras would be another travel option when crossing the Iloilo Strait to go to any point in the nearby island province from Iloilo City. It could curb if not totally eliminate fatal sea mishaps.

CCC Highway Consultants Co., Ltd. of the People’s Republic of China was the company that conducted the feasibility study for the proposed bridges last year.

Based on the project profile, the Iloilo/Panay-Guimaras Bridge will start in Leganes, Iloilo and end in Buenavista, Guimaras. It would be between four to seven kilometers long.

On the other hand, the Guimaras-Negros Bridge will start in San Lorenzo, Guimaras and end in Pulupandan, Negros Occidental. It would be between five to 12 kilometers long./PN