By Ferdinand Patinio/Philippine News Agency
MANILA — Three of the 275 bridges in Metro Manila that have been inspected by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) sustained minor defects due to the 6.1 magnitude earthquake that hit Luzon on Monday.
Citing the report of DPWH-NCR, Secretary Mark Villar said Thursday these are Guadalupe Bridge in Makati City with crack on girder; and the Tinajeros and Tanza Bridges in Malabon City with minor cracks at railings.
“Guadalupe Bridge is already up for major retrofitting under DPWH Unified Project Management Office, while Tanza Bridge will undergo second stage of inspection. The minor damage on Tinejeros Bridge on the other hand does not require immediate repair, as railings do not carry load,” he said.
At the same time, the DPWH chief reported that three of the 53 school buildings in NCR that have also sustained minor defects, were recommended for immediate structural evaluation.
The buildings are located in Las Piñas are: Las Piñas National High School (M. Villar Building), Las Piñas North High School (Department of Education (DepEd) Building) and Captain Albert Agular (CAA) National High School (Annex Building.)
Majority of the school buildings bore cracks on walls, columns, beams, and ceiling.
Villar noted that they are coordinating with the Department of Education (DepEd) for the restoration especially of structures with major damage.
“We are working closely with other national government agencies and stakeholders to ensure that our disaster preparedness, response, and rehabilitation programs are efficient,” he added.
With this, the DPWH secretary announced that all national roads and bridges affected by earthquakes are now accessible to the public.
“The DPWH Quick Response Teams were able to assess, fix, and open various roads, bridges, and other infrastructure that were damaged by the recent earthquakes in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,” Villar said.
He noted that DPWH Quick Response Teams with equipment were deployed to undertake structural assessment and ensure safety of national roads and public buildings in Central Luzon, Calabarzon, NCR, Eastern Visayas, Surigao del Norte, Davao Occidental, and Davao Oriental.
“As early as Wednesday afternoon, we were able to repair and open Consuelo Bridge in Floridablanca, Pampanga to light vehicles. Assessments of other infrastructure are also being conducted in the entire Central Luzon,” Villar added.
DPWH has also opened the East Lateral Mega Dike in Bacolor, the Floridablanca-Consuelo Bridge, and the Sasmuan-Lubao Road.
In Metro Manila, the section of UN Avenue, in front of Emilio Aguinaldo College is still cordoned off to one lane to prevent possible impact to passing vehicles on the leaning building.
On Tuesday, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the town of San Julian in Eastern Samar.
Shortly before noon on Wednesday, two earthquakes, with a magnitude of 4.7 and 4.5, hit Baganga, Davao Oriental and Sarangani, Davao Occidental, respectively.
Roads, bridges and other structures were affected by tremors that hit the three main islands of the country this week.
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