Janiuay execs seek SP action on plight of Suage bridge
Municipal officials of Janiuay, Iloilo are now calling for the intervention of the Iloilo Sanggunian Panlalawigan (SP) relative to the appeal to help save the Suage bridge from further destruction.
Blaming reported massive quarry activities here as the culprit, the municipal council in a series of Resolutions pushed anew for provincial dads to take action.
Amend at least two provincial ordinances on quarry operations, the council went as reflected in Resolution No. 2007-177. And this, the municipal officials said, should include amendments that will require quarry applicants to secure and present a resolution of the Sanggunian Barangay of the place where the extraction is to be conducted. Yet it does not stop there. Members of the town's council further want said resolution to bear conformity of the barangay concerned and a similar favorable endorsement by the Sanggunian Bayan "having territorial jurisdiction over the area subject of the application…"
Another Resolution followed this time from the Magapa-Sauge River Basin Management Council – "Resolution to bring to the attention of the Provincial Government the concern regarding the threat of quarry operations to the integrity of the Januiay Bridge in Jibolo, Januiay and of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Diversion Dam in Tolarucan, Mina."
Said Resolution was duly endorsed by Vice Governor Rolex Suplico.
And finally, Resolution No. 2007-121 also from the Janiuay Municipal Council requesting Governor Niel Tupas "to conduct an actual field investigation of the cause of massive scouring of aggregates within the foundation of the Suage River Bridge Pier of Janiuay, Iloilo."
Again, such was duly endorsed by the vice-governor for appropriate SP action.
To recall, fears were raised on the condition of the historic Suage Bridge here. A ten-tonner bridge that links Barangay Poblacion, Januiay town proper to and from Barangay Jibolo, it stands as the one and only passage of all other commuters to and from Januiay, and to and from elsewhere in Panay.
A conservative estimate will have at least 2,000 in private and public transport passing through Suage Bridge every single day. The huge buses of the national government's "Strong Republic Nautical Highway" program are some of the regular sights here. The ten-wheeler trucks too with heavy load.
Built by American soldiers during World War II, Japanese forces later on followed suit with watch towers constructed in both sides and ends of the bridge. During and after the war, these watch towers were testimony to the violent attacks launched by the Japanese soldiers.
Today, both the Suage Bridge and the Suage River are said to be in peril blamed on alleged excessive and destructive quarry activities here.
Board Member Celia Colada then expressed her concern while backing up colleagues in the Janiuay Municipal Council "for the unified battle to save the Suage River and save the Suage Bridge from further destruction."