Bucana Bridge: The Concrete Monument to Philippine Political Infantilism

Proof That in Philippine Politics, Even Concrete Comes with a Family Name

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — December 9, 2025

1. The Farce Unfolds

A bridge. Concrete, steel, 1.3 kilometers, P3.1 billion — and supposedly free. This should have been a simple good-news story: after decades of traffic hell in Davao finally ending with a new crossing to Bucana. But no, dear countrymen. In the Philippines, even a bridge must be turned into a telenovela.

While sitting in The Hague, Vice President Sara Duterte — beside her father, currently detained by the ICC — suddenly drops a statement:

“Tatay found the money. The Philippines didn’t spend a single centavo. Thank you, China.”
GMA News Online, 6 Dec. 2025

Meanwhile, two days earlier, President Bongbong Marcos, wearing a hard hat and a photogenic smile, inspected the bridge and declared it one of his administration’s “legacy projects” in Davao. Legacy. As if he just pulled it out of the previous administration’s closet, slapped a ribbon on it, and called it his own.

Welcome to the latest episode of the longest-running soap opera in the country: “Who Really Owns the Bridge?”

**“FREE BRIDGE (Terms: Your Sovereignty, Your Dignity, Your West Philippine Sea)”**

2. Deconstructing the Claims (With Surgical Precision)

First, the Duterte version. Sara is correct on one point: the money did come from a Chinese grant finalized on December 9, 2020 — near the tail end of her father’s term. There’s an Exchange of Letters, a contract with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), and the catchy “no cost to the Philippines” tagline. That part is true.

But “he found a way”? What way exactly? Flirt with Beijing? Give Xi Jinping a standing ovation? That “way” has a name: foreign-policy pivot — the kind where we suddenly became besties with China while shouting at America. And that “no cost” line? Adorable. The payment wasn’t in pesos — it was in sovereignty, influence, and our right to brag about the West Philippine Sea without fear of losing future bridges.

Now, the Marcos counter-claim. Yes, they finished it. They issued the Notice to Proceed in 2023. They solved the right-of-way issues. They will cut the ribbon on Dec 15. Execution matters, they say. Also true.

But “legacy project”? Spare me. Is a legacy now defined as not deliberately sabotaging your rival’s project? Is it showing up on site, holding the giant scissors, and posting photos as if you personally lifted every pillar? If that’s the bar, then I’m claiming legacy over the LRT-1 extension — I rode it once, after all.

3. The Rot Beneath the Concrete

This isn’t about the bridge. This is about us — about our disease.

This is about two political families fighting over credit while ordinary people are still stuck in traffic in Matina Aplaya. It’s like two kids arguing over who owns a mango tree — one shouting “I planted the seed!” while the other screams “I watered it!” Meanwhile, the seed was tossed there by the neighbor.

This is clientelism in its purest form: a bridge in Davao is no longer for Dabawenyos — it is now a trophy of the Duterte clan. Come election time, they’ll bring people here and say, “We gave you this.” And people will believe them. Because that’s how gullible we are.

This is about the painful truth that in the Philippines, there are no institutional projects — only personality projects. Change the president, and the previous administration’s plans can be thrown in the trash. If you can’t use it for a photo-op, why continue it? That’s why Build Build Build became Build Build More… then Stop Stop Stop… then Build again when someone realized there was still PR value left.

And here’s the most nauseating part: a bridge funded by China, built by a Chinese contractor, using a Chinese grant — while our president flies drones over Scarborough Shoal and pretends to be tough in the West Philippine Sea. What is this — cognitive dissonance with a ribbon-cutting ceremony?

4. Demand and Recommend

Enough with the drama.

I don’t just ask — I DEMAND — that the full, unredacted grant agreement be released. The complete 2020 Exchange of Letters. The CRBC contract. All procurement documents. Release them now. Not excerpts, not press releases — the whole thing. So we can see if there are strings attached or if this bridge is truly “free.”

And to our politicians who love ribbon-cutting: grow up. The Philippines is not a family corporation. Bridges, roads, and airports belong to the Republic — not to the Marcoses, not to the Dutertes, not to the Aquinos, Estradas, or Arroyos.

I want a law — a binding, bipartisan covenant — declaring that all major infrastructure projects shall be branded “Republic of the Philippines Projects.” No president’s face on the tarpaulin. No “Courtesy of” a politician’s mug. Credit goes to the office — to the DPWH, to the local government, to the Republic — not to the individual who will eventually retire and embarrass himself in the history books anyway.

And to you, my fellow citizens — the next time someone claims ownership of a bridge, ask them:

“Who paid the taxes that made this possible?”
“Who suffered in traffic long before any of you showed up?”
“And why did we have to cozy up to China just to get a damn bridge?”

Because as long as we stay silent, as long as we clap at every ribbon-cutting, we will remain fools stuck in traffic — even with a brand-new bridge.

Davao deserves the bridge.
The Philippines deserves better than this circus.

Waiting for a bridge that belongs to the Republic, not to whichever family thinks it owns the country this decade,

—Barok