Samal island (then comprised of three towns) was first offered to Davao City in exchange for an approximate area in Paquibato district. This was made years after the three Davao provinces were organized in 1967. But then city mayor Elias B. Lopez, a pure-blooded Bagobo, stuck to his gun, choosing instead to retain the city’s control of the district, a contiguous tribal area. As a result, Davao del Norte continues to administer the island and its twin, Talikud.
The idea of building a span linking the island to the mainland was first broached in the 1978 parliamentary elections that chose members of the Batasang Pambansa. An eight-nation consortium composed of globally recognized companies raised the idea of building an aluminum plant on the island with the hope of jump-starting the place’s development. But the idea did not fly given the insufficiencies an investment of this magnitude had to hurdle.
Significant among the deficiencies were the lack of ample water source to feed the industrial complex, underprovided power supply, absence of a bridge for the transport of products, and the lack of upgraded amenities to cater to foreign contractors and transient expatriates.
Nevertheless, Rodolfo P. del Rosario, an assemblyman of Davao del Norte, made a proposal to link the city and Samal in January 1979.
The endorsement hardly gained adherents given the handicaps of the island. When he assumed in concurrent capacity as minister of environment and natural resources in 1984, he again revived the idea but the events of 1986 forced the plan to the back burner.
A decade later, Gov. Prospero Amatong and Rep. Rogelio M. Sarmiento, of the yet undivided Davao del Norte province, joined forces in pursuing the plan to create the province of Compostela Valley under Republic Act 8470, and the amalgamation of the three towns of Samal into a component city of Davao del Norte under RA 8471, both on January 30, 1988.
With the ascendancy of Del Rosario as governor on June 30, 1998, the march to develop the island was earnestly pursued with help from Rep. Antonio R. Floirendo Jr., of the province’s second congressional district. A circumferential road was built linking the three reduced towns, igniting the rise of many coastal businesses and resorts in the island city and across.
When the idea of linking the island to the city, a proposed project called Davao-Samal Bridge was again floated. But in 2018, it was retitled to Samal Island-Davao City Connector to be built at a cost of P4.7 billion. The drumbeaters publicized the undertaking to start in mid-2019.
After a false start, Davao del Norte Gov. Edwin Jubahib in 2020 announced the groundbreaking rite of the now P23.04-billion, 3.98-km bridge to be held on July 1, 2020, with President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City mayor Sara Duterte gracing. Again, the event, after so many expectations and publicity, fell through.
The bright note in the oft-canceled bridge inauguration came on January 14, 2021, when the Philippine and Chinese governments signed a contract for the design and construction of span for a princely tag of P19.32 billion. Finally, on October 27, 2022, the span’s cornerstone laying was pushed through with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in attendance. This time, the bridge price had ballooned to P23-billion. Ninety percent of the project cost is funded through a US$350 million (roughly P18.67 billion) loan from China.
With all the construction and funding details ironed out, the bridge faces its final hurdle in a fight that involves the environment. Unless the bends are resolved outside the courts, the project, which got the notice to proceed on September 1, 2022, may yet be stalled until the crucial issues are addressed to the satisfaction of aggrieved parties.
