Halting Guadalupe Bridge repairs could end in disaster — Biz group

Following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision to temporarily pause the EDSA rehabilitation project, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) cautioned against including the Guadalupe Bridge refurbishment in the deferment, warning that it could lead to a catastrophe.

ECOP chairperson Edgardo Lacson said halting the repair of the nearly six-decade-old bridge would put the lives of motorists at serious risk.

“Safety is a necessity, not a luxury. The cancellation of EDSA repair can be postponed without endangering safety — but not the repair of the Guadalupe Bridge, which is 59 years old. It may be structurally weak,” Lacson said in a Viber message.

The Guadalupe Bridge, which connects Makati and Mandaluyong, was constructed in 1962 and completed in 1966. It was later widened in 1974.

Lacson further stressed that it “will be a catastrophic disaster should the Guadalupe bridge collapse during rush hours, plunging hundreds of stranded motorists into the highly polluted Pasig River, drowning or dying of toxic pollution.”

“The collapse of the Guadalupe Bridge will signal the failure of the government in protecting lives and properties and will be an international embarrassment,” he told DAILY TRIBUNE.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has scheduled refurbishing work on the bridge for October 2025.

On Sunday, President Marcos announced that the EDSA rehabilitation project would be paused to give agencies a month to explore modern technologies that could reduce the estimated two-year construction timeline.

“There are too many sacrifices, too much heavy traffic. Let’s pause the rehabilitation for now. We’ve seen new technologies that weren’t considered in the initial plans, so I instructed Secretary Vince Dizon and Secretary Manny Bonoan to temporarily halt the rehab,” Marcos said in Filipino.

As a result, the dry run for the proposed odd-even traffic scheme on EDSA, originally set for 16 June, will also be postponed.

MMDA Chairman Don Artes said the suspension would allow them to consider less disruptive traffic solutions.