On the way to Vigan where Tutubi wasn't able to find the missing watchtower in the town of Santa, a red brick structure caught his attention that made him stop to look around. What greeted him was a magnificent viewdeck with sweeping vista of the wide Abra River, the twin bridges of Banaoang Bridge (also called Quirino Bridge) and the newer bridge just beside it.

The Banaoang Viewdeck in Santa, Ilocos Sur:

the red brick "watchtower" with vandalisms visible on the national highway beside a high voltage power transmission tower




great view of Abra River. imagine sunrises and sunsets here

Banaoang Bridge with the mountain part of Ilocos Range

the old and new bridge, side by side over Abra River

Quirino Bridge, also called Banaoang Bridge as it's located in Barangay Banaoang, Santa, Ilocos Sur, is no longer used and replaced with a newer bridge. It connects the towns of Santa and Bantay and approximately fifteen minutes away from the heritage city of Vigan.

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GPS Coordinates of Banaoang Watchtower in Santa, Ilocos Sur
N17 33 24.8 E120 27 43.1

Labels: Bridges, Ilocos Region, Ilocos Sur, Rivers

An engineer and avid fan of megastructures, Tutubi was able to cross San Juanico Bridge, the longest bridge in the country connecting the islands of Samar and Leyte, even in the middle of heavy rains.

This time, he went off to check for himself the newly-opened bridge in Leyte Island in the town of Sogod. This he did by canceling an earlier planned trip to Sohoton Cave in Basey, Samar across Leyte Gulf.

Agas-agas Bridge from one end of the viaduct. Note the bahay kubo (native huts) below to add scale
The two piers supporting the bridge with a height of 292 feet visible on this photo. The platform on the sides of the bridge made available another bungee jumping in the Philippines' Eastern Visayas region

Recently inaugurated by PGMA, Agas-agas bridge was constructed to address the safety issues of frequent landslides and erosion in the area particularly during heavy rains and typhoons. I was funded by the Japanese government through the Official Development Assistance (ODA) fund and construction supervised by Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. of Japan.

a "side view" of the bridge taken from the old dangerous road it replaced
The tallest Bridge in the Philippines lies at kilometer 1007 marker and only habal-habal (motorcycle taxis) are available as public transportation from Mahaplag, Leyte or Sogod, Southern Leyte

With huge potential as an adventure tourism destination, made a part of the 350 meter long viaduct is a platform specifically for bungee jumping enthusiasts. Aficionados of other extreme sports like paramotor, downhill skateboarding zipline and rapelling are also expected to visit the Philippines highest bridge.

DPWH Agas-agas Bridge Field Office with ample parking space for possible adventurers to park their vehicles

(right picture: the two huts in the green valley below the bridge with a small waterfall in view, part of the Leyte Mountain Trail)

Tutubi wasn't able to see or experience any extreme sports at Agas-agas but on his return to Dulag, Leyte that he realized that he was able to set foot on the province of Southern Leyte.

How to get there:

Don't even think of commuting to Agas-agas bridge for for there's no public transportation that pass by the route except the hardy habal-habal. Mahaplag is a town of Southern Leyte and can be reached after about two hours travel from Tacloban City, about 70 kilometers away via zig-zag roads cutting through the beautiful landscapes of the so-called Leyte Mountain Trail. The bridge is located at the kilometer 1007 marker.

Related Posts:

The Longest Bridge of the Philippines

Labels: Adventure Tourism, Bridges, Eastern Visayas, Southern Leyte

With heavy rains offering near zero visibility in Tacloban hardly dampened Tutubi's will to travel and explore places, he was able to cross the famous San Juanico bridge, the Philippines' longest bridge connecting Leyte island to neighboring Samar separated by San Juanico Strait

San Juanico Bridge has a length of 2.16 kilometers with an arch at midspan allowing ample vertical clearance for ships to pass and visit the port of Tacloban.

the approach to San Juanico Bridge from Tacloban

The Welcome to Samar Arch: Tutubi conquered Samar :P


The shape of the other half of the bridge is visible here

If one end of the bridge is in Tacloban City, the other end is in Sta. Rita town of Samar.


What most people remember about San Juanico Bridge is the stunt pulled off by stuntman/actor Dante Varona where he jumped on the span unto the water below. What most people don't know, however, is that the bridge, when viewed from the sky, is a combination of the letters L and S to represent Leyte and Samar.

The lower part shaped like the letter L for Leyte and the upper part like an S for Samar (picture from Wikimapia)

Unconfirmed reports claims former president Ferdinand Marcos had the bridge constructed in 1973 as a gift to her imeldific wife, Imelda Marcos, who hails from Tacloban.

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How to get there:

San Juanico Bridge is about 10-20 minutes away by jeep or van from Tacloban Airport. You may ride buses/jeepneys going to Samar (e.g. Basey or Marabut or Guian) at Tacloban Bus terminal.

San Juanico Bridge is also one stop of Leyte Provincial Government-organized Icot-icot tour

Upcoming posts:
Braving Samar's notorious bad roads to stunning rock formations in a secluded beach and a town of the Banig Festival :P

Labels: Bridges, Eastern Visayas, Leyte, Samar, Tacloban City

Just a last picture of Cebu taken inside the van taking Tutubi to Mactan Cebu International Airport while about to cross the amazing cable-stayed bridge named after a prominent politician.

Marcelo Fernan Bridge is one of the two bridges crossing Mactan Channel separating Cebu Island from Mactan Island; the other is the older Mactan-Mandaue bridge.


Note that the dark clouds on the horizon were brought by typhoon Frank which was battering Manila at the time Tutubi was about to return there. It'sa good thing his return flight via Philippine Airlines was not canceled when all morning flights of Cebu Pacific Airlines and those of other carriers like Seair and Asian Spirit, using smaller planes were canceled.

Tutubi will be back in Cebu, that's for sure!

Labels: Bridges, Cebu, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Metro Cebu

In this last part of the Historic Tour of Pasig River series made possible by the Ayala Museum and Pasig River Rehabilitation Commision, let me take you with me on a journey when the mighty Rio del Pasig in chronological order: Jones, Quezon and Ayala (MacArthur Bridge completes the four grand puentes of Rio de Pasig

Jones Bridge:



Jones Bridge constructed in the 1920's as part of the grand scheme of neo-classical architecture in Manila, designed by the same architect of the the Post Office Building, Metropolitan Theater, and US Embassy: Juan Arellano.

Jones Bridge was named after William Atkinson Jones, a member of the U.S. Congress and chairman of the Insular Affairs Committee who sponsored the Philippine Autonomy Act in 1916.

Before Jones bridge, there was Puente de España, erected in 1875 to replace the earlier Puente Grande, the Puente de España can accommodate pedestrian and horse or carabao drawn carts and carriages as well as tranvias, the Puente de España needed to be destroyed and replaced by Jones Bridge to accommodate automobiles.

But, again, before Puente de Espana, there was Puente Grande, a seven-arch bridge established in 1632 to link Intramuros to Binondo (established in 1592) served before by a ferry service. Puente Grande was destroyed by the earthquake of 1863 and replaced by Puente de España.

Quezon Bridge


the south end of Quezon Bridge beside Arroceros Park


the north end of Quezon bridge near Quiapo

The precursor of Quezon bridge, called Puente Colgante (suspension bridge) held the distinction as the the first suspension bridge in East Asia (I don't use Far East since I'm in the Philippines) , built in 1852 with two lanes in opposite directions for carriages and a pedestrian lane in the center island but demolished in 1938 to give way to vehicular traffic.

Quezon Bridge was opened a year after the Golden Gate Bridge was inaugurated, sporting the art deco style and inspired by the Sydney Harbor Bridge-- no wonder it looks similar!

Ayala Bridge



The third tulay to be built spanning the Pasig was the Puente de Convalecencia, now known as the Ayala Bridge, originally composed of two separate spans connected by the Isla de Convalecencia, which is home to Hospisio de San Jose, the bridge over this island was originally made of wooden arched trusses. Completed in 1880 and suffered major damage to the structure and collapsed completely after 10 years. This was subsequently replaced with a simple metal saw trussed bridge during the 1890's, designed by an engineer that goes by the name of Gustave Eiffel, who later gained fame for the eponymous tower in Paris and the interiors of the Statue of Liberty, in the construction of the bridge in collaboration with Ayala y Cia.

MacArthur Bridge


MacArthur Bridge obscured by the Light Rail Transit (LRT)

Those four original bridges must've been an awesome sight back then but sadly the original ones were destroyed by the Japanese during the second world war and what we're seeing today are poor reconstructions of the originals.

This last picture of a bridge crossing the Pasig, bears the mission of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission's mission:


PRRC may have been beset with problems particularly lack of funds but their continuing program of accomplishing their mission is now noticeable partcularly with the relocation of "informal settlers" along the riverbanks, the construction of linear parks of the cities and the eventual improvement of water quality.

Note that under Proclamation 780, the annual Pasig River Marathon is to be held on the month of February also declared the Pasig River Month.

This year, the marathon will be held on February 25.

Disclaimer:

the small black and white photos were not taken by me (obviously I haven't been born yet) but now belong to the public through the US archives. If I should be proven wrong, please drop a comment and I will oblige by removing the picture posted here.

Related Posts:

Pasig River Cruise,
Pasig River Lighthouse,
Pasig River Structures,
People of Pasig,

Labels: Bridges, History, Manila, Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Rivers