Claim: A photo in the Build, Build, Build microsite of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) shows a concept or perspective illustration of the ongoing Panguil Bay Bridge project in Mindanao.
President Rodrigo Duterte supporter and Facebook user Dax Samonte used this same photo (see below) in a post published on November 18. It garnered at least 190 reactions, 20 comments, and 224 shares.
The post’s caption reads:
HOW IN HEAVENS CAN YOU OUST A HEAD OF STATE WHOSE VISIONS OF GOOD DEVELOPMENT ARE CURRENTLY BEING DONE BY THE PEOPLE’S PROGRAM “build build build”? This is one example. Once a vision. Now on the working table. Then implementaion. WHO WOULD WANT TO STOP THE GOOD USE OF PEOPLE’S TAXES ?
Rating: MIXED
The facts: In its feature on Panguil Bridge on the Build, Build, Build microsite, the DPWH erroneously used a mirror photo of the Incheon Bridge of South Korea.
While the two bridges have similarities in design, Incheon Bridge, which at 21.39 kilometers is the longest bridge in South Korea, is nearly 6 times the length of Panguil Bridge, which is expected to be around 3.7 kilometers long when completed.
A reverse image search of the photo used by the DPWH site and by Samonte yielded results pertaining to both the Panguil Bay Bridge Project and Incheon Bridge.
The original Incheon Bridge photo is featured in roadtraffic-technology.com, a website that covers the latest news about the road traffic industry worldwide and related technologies. This website posted an article about Incheon Bridge.
Below is a comparison of the misleading Incheon Bridge mirror image in the DPWH Build, Build, Build microsite and the original photo of the Korean bridge used in roadtraffic-technology.com.
Actual photos of the Korean bridge are also posted on the website of Samsung C&T Corporation, which led the design and construction of the bridge. The cable-stayed Incheon Bridge connects Yeongjong Island and New Songdo City in South Korea.
Several local blogs such as autoindustriya.com, lamudi.com, whereinbacolod.com, and philippineslifestyle.com also carried the misleading mirror photo image of Incheon Bridge and misinterpreted it as a pre-construction perspective of Panguil Bay Bridge.
Panguil Bay Bridge is set to connect Tangub City in Misamis Occidental and Tubod town in Lanao del Norte. According to its online milestone meter at the Build, Build, Build website, project implementation is at 14.4% completion as of posting time.
The project is funded by a $100.13-million loan from the Export-Import Bank of Korea-Economic Development Cooperation Fund. A Rappler article about the contract-signing last April 2016 featured a pre-construction sketch of the bridge, different from what was posted by the DPWH in its microsite.
While the main Build, Build, Build microsite used the misleading Incheon bridge photo, it appears that DPWH had previously used a correct concept photo of the bridge. A concept photo credited to build.gov.ph was cited by the blog aboutcagayandeoro.com in its October 5 report on the proposed bridge.
Some government agencies and websites also used the correct concept photo. This was the case in a February 22 presentation of the National Economic Development Authority.
Reports by the website cdodev.com on Panguil Bay Bridge also carried correct concept photos. The blog cdodev.com is a “guide” for constructions, proposals, and investments in Cagayan de Oro and surrounding areas.
A July 2017 report even featured a photo of a billboard in Tangub City showing where the bridge will rise. It used a more accurate concept photo (see below):
Upon request, the DPWH Unified Project Management Office-Roads Management Cluster II also sent Rappler the actual perspectives of the Panguil Bay Bridge (see below).
Rappler also requested for an explanation why the Build, Build, Build site used the mirror image of Incheon Bridge in its announcement about the project. We have yet to receive a statement as of posting. – Miguel Imperial/Rappler.com
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