Tourism ad on San Juanico Bridge irritates VP Sara

MANILA, Philippines — What could have probably been a relaxing plane ride for Vice President Sara Duterte to Australia was dampened by an advertisement that named the San Juanico Bridge among the tourist spots in the country. 

Duterte told the crowd gathered at the “Free Duterte Now” rally in Melbourne, Australia that while on her flight she saw a video advertisement about a hotel that mentioned tourist spots in the Philippines.

“I was very irritated about one portion of the advertisement that (said) in Tacloban, the tourist spot is San Juanico Bridge. How can a 2.6-kilometer bridge be a tourist spot? I was very irritated,” Duterte said.

A check with news reports showed that the San Juanico Bridge, which is the longest bridge in the country, spans 2.16 kilometers and connects the islands of Leyte and Samar. 

Duterte said that what would be considered as a tourist spot would be the 264-kilometer bridge that connects China and Macao. 

She said if the government wants to turn a bridge into a tourist spot, it should be long and connect several provinces, such as Cagayan de Oro to Dumaguete in Negros, Cebu and Bohol, and not the San Juanico which is currently undergoing repair because of structural weaknesses.