The bridge that would link Davao City with the Island Garden City of Samal is bound to be stuck in the drawing board. Two decades had elapsed and government officials, both local and national, had come and go but for some of them who dreamed, planned and worked for its fruition, that elusive dream had been buried with their bones.
The best chance for the Davao-Samal bridge to be realized would have been with the Duterte government. The feasibility study, engineering design and cost estimates had all been completed and all that is needed is money.
Like most of the mega projects that the Duterte administration undertakescin its Build, Build, Build program had been accomplished and some are still in the construction stage. The funding requirements are not from the general appropriation but from foreign loan proceeds. When it comes to foreign funding, the government’s source of cheap money is either China or Japan.
For one reason or another, the Davao-Samal bridge appeared to be the last on the queue. One consolation is that it is not being scrapped. We are told that the bridge will be funded by China. The problem is the Duterte government is soon to end its tenure. Let us admit it. China’s concessional loans to the Philippines is on account of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s friendship with China and most specially with Pres. Xi Jinping.
It does not take a doctorate degree on foreign affairs to know that the realization of Davao-Samal bridge would depend on who the next President will be. China is of course closely watching the development of the May 9 regular elections. The results will dictate whether the dreamed bridge will materialize or be washed away in the Davao Gulf. (Jun Ledesma)