San Juanico aesthetic lighting eyed for rehabilitation

TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Tourism in Eastern Visayas is looking for funding to rehabilitate the San Juanico Bridge aesthetic lighting system, which has been nonfunctional for more than a year.

Claire Pumanes, senior tourism officer of DOT-8, said the regional office is working to have the lighting system repaired and is identifying possible funding sources.

Pumanes clarified that while DOT-8 is helping seek funds, responsibility for maintaining the lighting system rests with the Samar provincial government.

The project was intended to complement Spark Samar, the province’s tourism branding campaign.

The ₱80-million lighting project, initiated by Samar Gov. Sharee Ann Tan, began in 2019 and was funded by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inaugurated the project on 19 October 2022.

The illuminated bridge was envisioned as a centerpiece of tourism and economic development in the area, alongside proposed government buildings, commercial establishments and residential developments near the bridge.

A boardwalk was also built on the Tacloban side, with spaces intended for restaurants, shops and other businesses. However, the stalls have remained vacant.

Pumanes said the lighting system sustained damage from several factors, including earthquakes that struck the region in recent years.

The bridge has also been targeted by thieves, with electrical cables cut and stolen while the lighting system was out of service.