Filipino locals choose between fording a river in their cars or crossing a rickety wooden bridge
- 5 years ago
Residents of a remote village in southern Philippines endure having to use an old, makeshift bamboo bridge to get in and out of town.
The dilapidated structure is the sole bridge in Barangay Cabacan, Iloilo City.
While cars have to traverse a steep bank before powering through the river below and accelerating up the slope on the other side.
Footage captured on July 24 shows a driver making the perilous crossing. While villagers were seen braving the rickety bridge on foot.
Marson Jay Agrava, who has conducted an outreach program in the village to aid development, said: "The place is really far from the market. Only small vehicles can enter. Whenever there is a storm, the village gets cut from the rest of the city. It was terrible."
He said that there are more than 200 families who live in Cabacan with over 1,000 children using the old bridge to go to school.
There was a concrete structure built on the foot of the bamboo bridge for a replacement bridge, but it has been months since it was placed and there was no improvement yet until now according to him.
The Philippines is made up of more than 7,000 different islands, with many of the communities separated by rivers and streams. Lack of economic development means they often rely on make-shift wooden bridges or simply wade through the water, even when there is a flood.
The dilapidated structure is the sole bridge in Barangay Cabacan, Iloilo City.
While cars have to traverse a steep bank before powering through the river below and accelerating up the slope on the other side.
Footage captured on July 24 shows a driver making the perilous crossing. While villagers were seen braving the rickety bridge on foot.
Marson Jay Agrava, who has conducted an outreach program in the village to aid development, said: "The place is really far from the market. Only small vehicles can enter. Whenever there is a storm, the village gets cut from the rest of the city. It was terrible."
He said that there are more than 200 families who live in Cabacan with over 1,000 children using the old bridge to go to school.
There was a concrete structure built on the foot of the bamboo bridge for a replacement bridge, but it has been months since it was placed and there was no improvement yet until now according to him.
The Philippines is made up of more than 7,000 different islands, with many of the communities separated by rivers and streams. Lack of economic development means they often rely on make-shift wooden bridges or simply wade through the water, even when there is a flood.