Manila, March 2 -- The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Monday has reopened to motorists the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela, over a year after the structure had collapsed.

With the opening of the bridge, Secretary Vince Dizon said people from Cabagan and Santa Maria, will no longer need to use boats to get to the other side of the bridge and vice versa.

"President Bongbong Marcos (PBBM) ordered us to come here to find a temporary solution because we have seen the hardship of the people here. It seems like it's one year anniversary more or less, since the collapse. Now, it can be used," he said during the opening of the bridge.

The bridge was opened to light vehicles less than two months after the construction of...