A flagship infrastructure project championed by former Bohol First District Rep. Edgar M. Chatto since his days as provincial governor is finally edging toward procurement, with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as indicated in a Notice of Award dated last August 2025 for the Panglao-Tagbilaran City Offshore Bridge Connector.
Chatto, who pushed for the offshore bridge as a long-term connectivity priority before and throughout his congressional tenure, made a point of requesting a formal status update from the DPWH before stepping down from office.
In a June 11, 2025 letter addressed to him, DPWH Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain confirmed that procurement documents are being finalized and that target procurement was set by end of June 2025 — with contract award expected two months later.
“The target procurement of the subject project shall be by the end of June 2025 and shall be completed within two months, should the necessary documents be approved,” Sadain wrote.
CHATTO’s VISION
The offshore bridge traces its origins to Chatto’s governorship, when he identified improved linkage between Panglao Island and the Tagbilaran City mainland as a strategic infrastructure priority — one critical to sustaining Bohol’s tourism-driven economy.
Approach roads to the main bridge span were funded by the national government and have since been completed.
The main structure, however, was originally slated for Chinese grant funding, an arrangement that collapsed amid geopolitical tensions between Manila and Beijing.
Rather than let the project die, Chatto — by then serving in the House of Representatives — kept the PTCOBC on the national infrastructure agenda and helped engineer a pivot to French government financing for the main span.
The national government has since identified the project as one of its major infrastructure undertakings.
A French envoy visited Bohol in a recent assessment mission tied to the project.
Under a Note Verbale between the governments of France and the Philippines, the DPWH must first procure a winning contractor and sign a Commercial Contract before a formal loan application can be filed with Paris.
The DPWH Procurement Service has verified that the three nominated contractors — Matiere SAS, Gagne SA, and Freyssinet, all French firms — are not debarred or declared ineligible by major multilateral lenders including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the African Development Bank.
Those findings were forwarded to the Department of Finance in March 2025.
Sadain acknowledged in his letter that the Implementing Office has encountered considerable setbacks in finalizing the required procurement documents, which include the Terms of Reference, Minimum Performance Standards and Specifications, Conceptual Design Plans, Approved Budget for the Contract, and Bidding Documents.
To accelerate the process, the office has been preparing all documents simultaneously rather than sequentially, while coordinating closely with reviewing offices to fast-track approvals.
2028 TARGET
The original completion target for the PTCOBC was set at 2028.
However, given the funding complexities and the drawn-out procurement preparation process, the timeline is expected to extend somewhat beyond that mark.
Once completed, the bridge is expected to ease vehicular and commercial traffic between Panglao — home to some of the Philippines’ most visited beach destinations — and the provincial capital of Tagbilaran City, reducing dependence on the existing causeway and improving mobility across Bohol’s western corridor.