A Facebook (FB) post made three incorrect claims and one that needs context about the history and funding of the Samal Island – Davao City Connector (SIDC) Bridge.
The FB post claimed without basis that the SIDC bridge was conceptualized and funded in 1974 during the term of the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
It also wrongly claimed that the SIDC Bridge received funding from China in 2007. At the same time, it said that 44% of the bridge’s funding came from ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s Build, Build, Build infrastructure program in 2019 and 56% from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Build Better More in 2022.
Further, the FB post said that the Marcos Jr. administration would construct the 3.9-kilometer SIDC Bridge after the inauguration last September of the Panguil Bay Bridge, a 3.77-kilometer extradosed bridge connecting Tangub in Misamis Occidental and Tubod in Lanao del Norte. The claim needs context.
STATEMENT
The claims, which came from an Oct. 4 post by FB page Bagong Pilipinas, read:
“SAMAL-DAVAO BRIDGE ANG ISUSUNOD NG MARCOS ADMINISTRATION PAGKATAPOS NG PANGUIL BRIDGE (The Marcos administration will build the Samal-Davao Bridge after the Panguil [Bay] Bridge)…
FUNDED BY THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA AS OF OCTOBER 22, 2007
100% 1974 Marcos Administration – Conceptualization
44% 2019 Funded Dutertenomics & Build Build Build
56% 2022 Funded Bagong Pilipinas & Build Better More…”
Source: Facebook page Bagong Lipunan, SAMAL-DAVAO BRIDGE AND ISUSUNOD… (archived version here), Oct. 4, 2024
The post appeared four days after critics of the bridge raised that the approval process for the China-funded SIDC Bridge may have been fast tracked to get it off the ground quickly.
FACT
The Samal Island – Davao City Connector (SIDC) Bridge, which costs P23.04 billion, will be funded through a P19.32 billion, or 83.85% of its construction cost, through a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China.
These figures are based on a contract signed on Aug. 17, 2022 between the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and China Road and Bridge Corporation.
(Read: Peril to paradise? China-funded Samal-Davao bridge project raises worries over Paradise Reef damage)
| CLAIM | RATING |
|---|---|
| The SIDC Bridge was 100% conceptualized in 1974 during the administration of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. | FALSE |
Former Davao Del Norte assemblyman Rodolfo Del Rosario supposedly proposed in 1979 the construction of a bridge that will connect Samal Island and Davao City, based on a screenshot of a Jan. 8, 1979 article by the Mindanao Times posted on X (formerly Twitter) and on the website samalguide.com.
VERA Files Fact Check could not find any documents indicating that Del Rosario’s proposal was formalized through a bill filed in the then Batasan Pambansa and approved or funded during the Marcos Sr. administration.
| CLAIM | RATING |
|---|---|
| The Marcos Jr. administration will build the SIDC Bridge after the Panguil Bay Bridge was inaugurated last September. | NEEDS CONTEXT |
The claim needs context. Construction of the SIDC Bridge already started last April and is targeted for completion in September 2028.
Both the SIDC Bridge and the Panguil Bay Bridge were listed in 2021 among the high-impact infrastructure flagship projects under Duterte’s Build, Build, Build infrastructure program. These were carried over to Marcos Jr.’s Build Better More program.
The meeting to start the Panguil Bay Bridge’s construction happened on Feb. 28, 2020. The bridge was inaugurated on Sept. 27, 2024.
DPWH Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain said the SIDC Bridge would be finished by 2028. The project’s detailed engineering design is 97.9% complete as of September 2024.
Physical overall construction was at 3.5% completion rate as of April, as reported by the DPWH. Construction on both sides of the bridge is ongoing as of Oct. 11.
FB page Bagong Pilipinas, which published the erroneous post, was created on Dec. 16, 2023 and uses a photo of Duterte as profile picture. However, it reposts anti-Duterte videos and pro-Marcos content.
*This article was produced with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Project.
