DPWH exec in Western Visayas sued over demolition of ‘historic’ bridge
BACOLOD CITY—A heritage advocate has filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman for the Visayas against a former regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Western Visayas for the alleged illegal demolition of a historic bridge in Negros Occidental.
The complaint was filed by heritage advocate Andoni Llantada Valencia against Nerie Bueno for grave abuse of discretion and betrayal of public trust over the unauthorized demolition of the Talave Bridge, which connected Calatrava town to San Carlos City.
The Talave Bridge, built in 1933, was a 100-meter steel structure that served as a vital link between the two localities, said Valencia, also the chairperson of the Juan Calatrava Movement, a local group dedicated to preserving the cultural and historical landmarks of northern Negros.
Bueno, now DPWH Assistant Secretary for Regional Operations in Visayas and Mindanao, has yet to issue a statement on the complaint.
As a structure over 50 years old, it was presumed to be an Important Cultural Property (ICP) under Republic Act No. 10066, or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, which prohibits the alteration or demolition of heritage structures without prior clearance from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), he added.
Despite this legal protection, demolition of the bridge began in 2023 without a clearance from the NHCP, Valencia claimed.
In July 2024, the NHCP issued a cease and desist order addressed to both Bueno and San Carlos City Mayor Renato Gustilo but the demolition continued, culminating in the bridge’s complete destruction by mid-2024, he said.
“This is a clear violation of the law. The NHCP’s authority was ignored, and a piece of our national heritage was destroyed without due process. This is not just negligence—it is a betrayal of public trust,” Valencia said.
He noted the bridge was not only a functional structure but also a symbol of the region’s prewar engineering and economic history.
Originally constructed by the United States Steel Products Company, the bridge played a key role in the logistics of the sugar industry during the American colonial period, he added.
