Tacloban City — The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said it did not issue a clearance for the construction of a bridge over a waterway under the Calbayog Coastal Road Project.

PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the memorandum issued by the agency’s engineering office on March 9, 2021, referred only to a bridge over a roadway and not to a bridge crossing a navigable waterway.

“The bridge in issue is a bridge over a waterway,” Santiago said in a message to the Daily Tribune. He stressed that the Department of Public Works and Highways must present an actual clearance from the PPA, not an internal memorandum.

The issue surfaced during a recent site visit by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon to the Calbayog Coastal Road Project, where he criticized officials of the Samar 1st District Engineering Office for proceeding with construction without securing a permit from the PPA.

Dizon visited the project as part of his inspection of the Samar segment of the Maharlika Highway and warned that legal action could be filed against district engineering officials if negligence is established.

He said completion of the project has been delayed due to the absence of a height clearance from the PPA for the bridge structure.

Santiago said the bridge was originally designed as an arched structure with a height clearance of five meters from the road level.

“Kaso for whatever reason, binabaan nila yung tulay ipinantay sa kalsada without considering yung waterway sa ilalim ng tulay,” he said.

“Ang understanding is five meters from roadway so dapat talaga naka arko, hindi ka-level ng road,” he added.

The Calbayog City Coastal Bypass Road is a multi-year project intended to connect Barangay San Policarpo to Barangay Rawis, allowing motorists to bypass the city’s business district and ease traffic congestion in downtown Calbayog.

The project includes a four-lane roadway with bike lanes and pedestrian areas, as well as a major bridge and breakwater envisioned to support future port development.