MINDANAO DAILY SOURCE

TAGOLOAN, MISAMIS ORIENTAL — Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon has committed to resolving the long-standing infrastructure delays surrounding the Tagoloan Bridge, acknowledging that responsibility for the congestion lies with the national government rather than local leadership.

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‎​Reflecting on his first few weeks after assuming office as DPWH Secretary in 2026, Dizon recalled being approached by Deputy Speaker Yevgeny "Bambi" Emano regarding the persistent issues plaguing the Tagoloan Bridge project. Despite Emano’s repeated appeals to the national government over the past three years, the critical structure has remained unfinished.

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‎​Aligning with the directive of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to complete all stalled infrastructure initiatives, Dizon highlighted the urgency of the project.

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‎He emphasized that Misamis Oriental serves as the industrial capital of Northern Mindanao and acts as a vital gateway connecting the region to Luzon and the Visayas.

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‎​"𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘹 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘯𝘢 1968 𝘱𝘢. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦. 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 2026 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘗𝘞𝘏 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥," Dizon stated.

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‎​Under the target timeline, the primary bridge work is scheduled for completion, with the middle bridge section slated for completion before the end of President Marcos' term in 2028.

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‎​Addressing public frustration over daily traffic jams, Dizon urged commuters and residents not to blame local officials. He explicitly cleared Deputy Speaker Emano and Tagoloan Mayor Nadya Emano-Elipe of fault, placing the responsibility squarely on the DPWH.

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‎​"𝘏𝘶𝘸𝘢𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘪 𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘵." Dizon clarified, assuring the public that the agency is prioritizing the site to deliver long-term relief to travelers. | Steph Berganio/ MDS