Search teams recovered a second missing passenger in Bayambang, Pangasinan, following the August 29 collapse of the Agana Bridge in Tarlac City. The disaster occurred when strong floodwaters plunged an SUV carrying five people into the Tarlac River just one day after the nearby Aquino Bridge failed amid heavy monsoon rains.
The Collapse and Ongoing Recovery Operations
Search and rescue operations intensified across provincial lines following the structural failure of the Agana Bridge in Barangay Tibag, Tarlac City. The bridge gave way at approximately 8:32 p.m. on Saturday, August 29, battered by powerful currents from the Tarlac River during severe weather brought by the Southwest Monsoon, as reported by regional disaster teams.
The Philippine Air Force reported that its Tactical Operations Wing Northern Luzon and Tactical Operations Group 3 conducted search and rescue operations after the Toyota Avanza carrying five passengers fell into the river. While one individual survived and was brought to Tarlac Provincial Hospital, four passengers remained missing as multi-agency rescue units deployed along the waterways, according to police officials coordinating the response. Joining in the search and rescue operations are teams from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion, the 522nd Engineer Construction Battalion, and the 7th Civil-Military Operations Battalion.
Recovery efforts yielded the first body when search teams located James Patrick Taborlupa in a river in Lingayen, Pangasinan, last Monday. On Tuesday afternoon, three days after the accident occurred, authorities found a second victim, identified as Shanen Tuhao, in a river in Barangay San Vicente. Search operations for the two remaining missing passengers, Harvey Paul Collado and Shiela Mae Taborlupa, were ongoing as of yesterday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Toyota Avanza of the victims was recovered in a river near the Ninoy Aquino Boulevard in Tarlac City yesterday afternoon, with police using heavy equipment to lift the vehicle from the water.
Bridge Failures Strain Regional Transit
The Agana Bridge disaster marked the second infrastructure failure in Tarlac City within a short window. Just one day prior, a section of the Aquino Bridge was swept away by strong floodwaters on Friday amid continuous rains and strong river currents, and the Aquino Bridge was subsequently closed to traffic. Tarlac Gov. Christian Yap told “Sa Totoo Lang” on One PH that the Agana and Aquino Bridges that collapsed were old.
Because the Agana Bridge had been serving as an alternative route after the Aquino Bridge partially collapsed on Aug. 28 amid heavy habagat rains, its subsequent collapse dealt a blow to local connectivity. Following the collapse of the two bridges in Tarlac City, Office of Civil Defense Region 3 Information Officer Liezel Cayanan said that rerouting schemes will be implemented, noting that the provincial and city governments have established an updated rerouting scheme for commuters. Tarlac City Mayor Susan Yap announced the recovery of the first victim on Monday as she extended her deepest condolences to the family of the victim, while Yap added that the city government is closely monitoring the operation and coordinating with concerned agencies to ensure that the retrieval is carried out properly and as quickly as possible.
Emergency Repairs and Nationwide Police Directives
In response to the dual bridge failures, Department of Public Works and Highways personnel started on Monday the repairs of Agana and Aquino Bridges in Tarlac City, following orders from President Marcos to speed up their restoration. Earlier, DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said the agency would construct a temporary steel bridge to reconnect the collapsed middle section of the Aquino Bridge, and Dizon ordered the immediate installation of safety barricades and a comprehensive structural assessment following the collapse of the bridges due to heavy monsoon rains and strong river currents from the Tarlac River. Dizon also said that strong, debris-laden river currents washed away a central concrete pier, causing a major bridge segment to plunge into the riverbed, noting that he had dispatched engineers from Metro Manila to assess what quick engineering solution could be applied.
Concurrently, the Philippine National Police has ordered local police units to tighten coordination with local authorities and secure vulnerable roads and bridges as continuing rains raise risks of further infrastructure-related incidents. PNP Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said police personnel in Tarlac City immediately responded after the Agana Bridge collapsed on Aug. 29 causing an SUV to fall into the river sweeping it farther. Nartatez stated that their personnel immediately responded to the incident, secured the area, coordinated with the other responding agencies, and assisted in the search and rescue operations, emphasizing that their priority was to ensure public safety and help locate those who remain missing. Nartatez also directed Tarlac City police to maintain security and crowd control around the collapsed bridge and ordered continuous PNP participation in the operations, while stating that they will remind all police commanders to coordinate closely with their respective local government units and disaster-response agencies, particularly in securing bridges, roads and other areas affected by the continuing rains.
