Marcos inaugurates P8.03-B Panguil Bay Bridge

President Marcos inaugurated yesterday the P8.03-billion Panguil Bay Bridge, which reduces travel time between Misamis Occidental and Lanao del Norte provinces from about two hours to only seven minutes.

- HELEN FLORES

The President, accompanied by First Lady Liza Marcos, toured the 3.17-kilometer bridge before leading the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Funded through a loan agreement between the Philippine government and the Korean Export-Import Bank (Korea Eximbank), the bridge connects Tangub City in Misamis Occidental and Tubod town in Lanao del Norte.

It is the longest sea-crossing bridge in Mindanao.

"We waited for this for such a long time. If I had a peso for every time someone asked me, 'When will we finish the Panguil Bay Bridge?' I would already be able to fund a second bridge by now," the President said in his speech in Tubod, noting it took decades before the bridge was constructed.

"We all know that the increased economic activity is going to be an important development building block for both the provinces and the entire island of Mindanao," he added.