A Facebook post claims that the Bucana Bridge in Davao City, set for inauguration on Dec. 15, is one of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s legacy projects. This needs context.
Published on Dec. 4, the photo of the post bears the text:
“BBM Legacy in Davao. Sinimulan noong 2023 at natapos ngayong 2025 (Started in 2023, completed this 2025).”
Its caption reads:
“Isinakatuparan mula Nobyembre 2023 hanggang Nobyembre 2025, ang proyekto ay simbolo ng dedikasyon at malasakit ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Bahagi ito ng Davao City Coastal Bypass Road na magdadala ng pag-asa at ginhawa sa bawat mamamayan.”
(Implemented from November 2023 to November 2025, the project symbolizes the dedication and concern of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It’s part of the Davao City Coastal Bypass Road, which will bring hope and convenience to every citizen.)
The initial agreement between the Philippines and China to help in the construction of the Davao River Bridge project was reached in 2018, following the signing of a bilateral contract by then-Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar and former China International Development Cooperation Agency chair, Wang Xiaotao.
DPWH issued the notice to proceed with the project to Chinese contractors on July 1, 2022, just a day after Marcos assumed the presidency.
The Bucana Bridge, which crosses the Davao River, was partly funded by a P3.126-billion grant from China’s Official Development Assistance.
At the Dec. 4 inspection of the bridge, Marcos said, “This is one of the four major projects that we… our legacy projects that we will be finishing in Davao and its environs.”
In the comments section of the post, Duterte supporters accused Marcos of taking credit for the Bucana Bridge away from the former chief executive and now detained Rodrigo Duterte
Vice President Sara Duterte attributed the completion of the bridge to her father, stressing that it was her father who secured funding for the project from China.
“It was made known at that time to former president Duterte that the bridge is unfunded, at siya ay naghanap ng paraan para mabigyan ng pondo yung bridge (he was the one who found a way to obtain funding for the bridge),” the vice president said in a Dec. 5 chance interview in The Hague, where her father has been detained since March 2025.
The 1.34-kilometer Bucana Bridge is expected to ease traffic congestion and connect the eastern and western coastal areas of Davao City.
The post by Facebook page Bagong Pilipinas Chronicles (created on Aug. 9, 2021) has so far garnered 2,300 reactions, 6,600 comments, and 649 shares.