President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. could not help but take a trip down memory lane as he led the ceremonial lighting of the San Juanico Bridge, one of the pet projects of his parents during their regime.

Marcos said this during the official switch-on of the San Juanico Bridge Aesthetic Light and Sound Show Project in Sta. Rita, Samar Province, on Wednesday evening, October 19.

In his speech, the President thanked the local government of Samar for inviting him as it gave him an excuse to visit “home” even for a few minutes.

He said he couldn’t pass on the invitation as the iconic structure has a special place in his heart.

“I would like to thank the local government of Samar for extending this kind invitation to witness this historic — and also gives me an excuse to come home for a little while,” the President said.

“I could not pass up the chance to be here with you all today, as this bridge holds a special place in my heart, as it was one of the flagship projects completed during the administration of my late father,” he added.

Marcos noted how the event was like a complete circle as his namesake father, the late president Ferdinand Marcos, spearheaded the bridge’s inauguration.

“You can all imagine how genuinely delighted I am to be present to witness the lighting as your President,” he said.

He added that the San Juanico Bridge was built for Samar, not Leyte.

“I remember it very well because my mother was saying, as you said you were watching, you watched the development of Leyte, of Tacloban… she was saying, ‘It only arrives hanggang Leyte lang (up to Leyte only),'” Marcos said.

“That is why it was very, very important that this bridge be built to give Samar some of the advantages that Tacloban has, that the province of Leyte has,” he added.

With a distance of 2.16 kilometers, San Juanico Bridge is the longest bridge along the Pan-American Highway connecting Samar and Leyte, which stretches along the San Juanico Strait. The light show and colors can be customized depending on the occasion.

The lighting project is seen to usher economic development by boosting the tourism industry in the southern part of Samar, particularly in the towns of Sta. Rita and Basey, and help address insurgency in the Province.

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Argyll Cyrus Geducos

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