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| The San Juanico Bridge, which connects Samar and Leyte, was ceremonially lit by President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. DPWH-TCDEO |
TACLOBAN CITY — In time for the holiday season, on Wednesday evening (Oct. 19), President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. oversaw the ceremonial lighting of the San Juanico Bridge, which connects the islands of Samar and Leyte and is now considered the second longest bridge in the Philippines.
Joining the President are Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Secretary Ma. Zenaida Angping, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr., Samar 2nd District Representative Reynolds Michael Tan, Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan, Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla, Tourism Infrastructure, and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) Chief Operating Officer Mark Lapid, Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez, and Sta. Rita Mayor Jade Tiu.
Samar and Leyte, two separate islands in the Philippines, are joined by the 2.16-kilometer-long San Juanico Bridge that stretches across the Strait of San Juanico. In 1969, construction on the bridge began as part of Japan's War Reparation Program. Tacloban City native and former First Lady Imelda Romuladez-Marcos' birthday, July 2, 1973, was the official opening day.
For the previous calendar year, it held the title of the longest bridge in the Philippines.
The 50th anniversary of its completion will be celebrated in 2023, marking a significant milestone in the development of trade and industry in the Eastern Visayas and the successful linking of the islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
As part of their SPARK SAMAR Development Program, the Provincial Government of Samar proposed to the Department of Tourism via TIEZA to fund the bridge's aesthetic lighting project. —iTacloban (Source: DOT-EV)