TARLAC CITY — Emergency response equipment donated by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) arrived in Tarlac City on 26 September to help residents safely cross the Tarlac River following the partial collapse of the Aquino Bridge due to heavy monsoon rains last month.

The MMDA sent pontoons, life vests and rubber boats as construction and rehabilitation of the damaged bridge continues.

The deployment came in response to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive for an immediate response after reports surfaced of students and commuters crossing the river on an airbed pulled by local residents.

Cabinet Secretary Benhur Abalos led the send-off ceremony at the MMDA Motorcycle Riding Academy in Pasig City.

“The President saw the reports of residents there taking their makeshift river crossing. He instructed an immediate response while the Aquino Bridge is currently under repair,” Abalos said.

He thanked the MMDA for quickly organizing and mobilizing its assets to assist affected residents.

MMDA chairman Atty. Don Artes said the agency’s personnel and equipment were being deployed to provide a safer alternative for those crossing the river.

“With the 100-meter river crossing, we will deploy 50 units of pontoons or floaters to serve as an alternative river crossing, which will be secured with bamboo hand railings,” Artes said.

He said the pontoons, along with 50 life vests and eight engine-operated rubber boats, would provide residents with a safer option instead of using airbeds as makeshift boats.