MISLEADING: Noynoy Aquino’s ‘useless mini-footbridge’

Claim: There was no uproar when the administration of former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III built a “useless” mini-footbridge – also said to be a “waste” of taxpayers’ money – unlike the controversial Kamuning footbridge built by the current administration.

The blog opinyonko.com posted the claim on November 15. The post was shared 18 times in different Facebook pages and groups which amounted to a combined total of at least 8,500 interactions and 680,000 followers.

Facebook user Stephanie Salazar also posted the claim.

Rating: MIXED

The facts: The mini-footbridge was built to teach children about road safety. It is not an actual footbridge for pedestrians.

It is part of the 4,600-square-meter Children’s Road Safety Park on Adriatico Street corner Quirino Avenue, Manila City. The park is a project of the Metro Manila Development Authority to promote “understanding of road safety measures,” raise “awareness and educate the community about road safety issues” and “teach the young ones the potential dangers on the roads.”

The park was inaugurated in 2012. In 2014, a photo of the bridge was posted by a netizen who called it the “weirdest project in the world.” The MMDA said the claim “misleading.”

In the MMDA’s Facebook page, a 2014 photo of children using the bridge can be seen.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Salazar compared the mini-footbridge with the controversial P10-million “Mt. Kamuning footbridge” on EDSA-Kamuning, Quezon City. 

The 9-meter-high footbridge above the MRT3 line is set to open on November 27. Its original opening date was November 15. As cited in a CNN Philippines article, MMDA Spokesperson Celine Pialago said the bridge will be modified. – Miguel Imperial/Rappler.com

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