Southern Leyte: Only vehicles under three tons are allowed to cross the Liloan Bridge in Southern Leyte since Wednesday, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) announced Thursday. The load limit of the bridge, which forms part of the nautical highway that links Leyte Island to Mindanao, will mainly affect four towns in Southern Leyte's Panaon Island, RDRRMC chair and Office of Civil Defense regional director Lord Byron Torrecarion said.

According to Philippines News Agency, RDRRMC is mapping out plans on how to transport essential goods to the towns of Liloan, San Ricardo, Pintuyan, and San Francisco. The bridge leads to Liloan and San Ricardo ports, which host regular Southern Leyte-Surigao roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) trips.

In the past five months, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has been imposing a five-ton load limit on Liloan Bridge due to damage caused by the magnitude 5.8 earthquake that struck Southern Leyte on Jan. 23, 2025. The quake caused a space gap in the bridge's steel expansion joint.

"The space gap has worsened, prompting the DPWH to further limit access to heavy vehicles. Trucks coming and going to Mindanao are advised to take to alternative ports in Southern Leyte," Torrecarion said. Alternative RoRo ports are in the towns of Saint Bernard, Maasin, and San Juan, all in Southern Leyte province.

The DPWH earlier announced that plans have been laid for the six-year construction of a PHP5.1-billion bridge in Liloan to replace a 48-year-old existing bridge within the nautical highway that links Luzon to Mindanao. It will be financed by the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) and the Philippine government. The proposed bridge traversing Panaon Strait connects Panaon Island to Leyte Island and involves the construction of a 230-meter cable-stayed main bridge, a 146-meter approach bridge, and a 345-meter approach road, which will replace the dilapidated Liloan Bridge.