Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmena is playing the “Imperial Manila” card instead of trusting the decision of NEDA Secretary Ernesto Pernia and Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade to put on hold the implementation of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit system.
A statement from the DOTr says, “The DOTr believes that a review must be undertaken and that concerns raised must be addressed, so as not to cast any doubt on the integrity of the project. Rest assured that the decision to be made will be anchored on the DOTr’s aim to enhance mobility and connectivity in the country, and to put the convenience of the riding public on topmost priority.”
Secretary Pernia on the other hand says that the BRT will have to wait as the proposed subway and LRT project for Metro Cebu is still being studied.
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Instead of throwing tantrums on his Facebook page, Cebu City Mayor Osmena should show restraint, sobriety, and dignity in dealing with a decision by the national government.
Osmena getting people like Jover Laurio and the chief clown of a discredited online movement for change to fight as his proxies only tends to cast even more doubt on his true intentions to pressure the national government into proceeding with a project that was hatched during the Aquino Administration.
This doesn’t look too good in light of a recent P8.7 billion road right of way (RROW) scandal in General Santos City. As of the latest news about it, the NBI has filed graft plunder and graft complaints against former Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson and other officials.
According to a news report, the modus operandi of the syndicate that perpetrated the RROW was to have people claim for just compensation of road right of way (RROW) which are intended for rightful owners who were affected by national highway construction at General Santos City.
The members of the syndicate would submit fake titles in the name of non-existent persons or not real landowners. The syndicate would then secure payment using fake land titles.
From 2009 to the latter part of the Aquino administration, the group has allegedly processed more than 300 folders of fake claims “amounting to more or less P8.7 billion.”
On the other hand, the BRT project implementation unit has a P900-million budget for lot acquisition and so far, offers made to the property owners have amounted to P327,404,000.
Although there will be no road widening for the lanes intended for the buses, the City has to acquire a portion of the properties along the route for bus stops and terminals, among other facilities.
The bus route is from Barangay Talamban to Barangay Bulacao, passing Escario St., Osmeña Blvd. and N. Bacalso Ave.
I am not certain that the BRT will pass through the streets mentioned by someone on Facebook but it is worth noting:
Have you seen how narrow Cebu’s roads are? Even in San Francisco, the electric buses are only confined to certain roads which allows the conjoined buses to make wide turns. Imagine a BRT system in Cebu turning left from Mango Avenue to Gorordo Avenue going up to Lahug and then Nivel Hills.
Cebu is mountainous terrain which is why its development had been cantilevered – downtown which evolved from the old capital of Colon, up to midtown where Fuente Osmeña and the provincial capitol is then uptown to Lahug and Busay.
A BRT system wouldn’t work even if you used all the easement available on both sides of the roads including the sidewalks.
There must be an anomaly in the loan obtained given it was under the aegis of the old DOTC under Jun Abaya and the Daang Matuwid robbery gang.
Cebu started going down the drain after Lito Osmeña stepped down as Governor. When Osmeña was still the Governor attention was paid to the details of running the province.
Writer.
Kung ako pa ni Tomas, muundang na siya sa pagkaMayor, kay wala man siyay nataba jud ba. Kanang BRT nga iyang ingun, makasamot mana sa traffic.
Hahahaha, di man gud madawat ni T nga mas effective ang LRT kesa sa iyang BRT. Kung ako sa iya, para mawala ang trapik, iyang dawatun ang suggestion ni Sir Dino nga LRT. Walay mawala sa iyang pagkaMAYOR, kung iyang tun-an.
Sa kadugay nimo sa CityHall and as a politician, unsa man imong na tabang sa sulod sa 30yrs sukad? Hay Tomas, kanang mga druglords sa cebu, nganga ra ghapon ka. Kanang baha, libaong, basura? Labi na sa TRAPIK, nga palpak imong mga plano sa mambaling. tsk
Sure it is on hold? This is another fake info from a paid blogger. Get your facts first. It is dino who is responsible in the delay of the project not the NEDA or DOTr. Should we wait another 10 more years for LRT to come true? The city needs an immediate solution to the heavy traffic. LRT is good in addition to BRT but it take many years to implement tje project. BRT is already and already have funds. Why waste another years for LRT.
LRT is not that effective. Makita nato sa manila nga king naay maabiriya nga tren tanan walay makadagan kay naka bara ang tren nga guba dili siya maka derail. Whereas ang BRT kung naay maaberiya nga bus puede ra ghapon makadagan ang uban bus puede ra mo lihay sa naaberiya nga bus. So mas effective ang BRT sa inner part sa city
Fake land titles, claiming “right of way”, can be prevented by Re-surveying the description placed on the title. There must be also a, “Title Search”, or “Title History”, in the audit system.
The scam, went through, because of the connivance of the high placed people of the Aquino administration. I think, the brother in law of Aquino, was also involved in the title scam.
There are good Railway Engineers, that can plan for any Light Railway Transit system. Only, they come from foreign countries. We have progressed much in railway engineering. Planning is needed. It takes time to plan, because you have to take into consideration: the environment, the weather, and the riding public.
LOL. Hyden, “surveys” are just another way Pinoys scam each other. There is no point surveying a description which was wrong in the first place. I’ve seen titles where the boundary description doesn’t even close. What is the surveyor supposed to do about that?
The country has no land titling system. That’s why these disputes arise in the first place. The country doesn’t even understand the basic concept of land titling, namely, that the government will guarantee and defend your right to occupy a piece of land.
The fact is, once the government hands out a title – and they are nearly always defective – you are on your own. Any problem, you have to pay for an army of surveyors and lawyers who will … make the problem worse. There is actually no guarantee the government won’t arbitrarily issue a title that replaces or overlaps onto yours.
And that’s exactly why the Philippines has what LOOKS like a land-titling system, but in actuality is not: It provides jobs for surveyors and lawyers, and keeps the oligarchs in power while the people squabble over who doesn’t own what.
Sometimes problems don’t require a solution to solve them; instead they require maturity to outgrow them.
Although there will be no road widening for the lanes intended for the buses, the City has to acquire a portion of the properties along the route for bus stops and terminals, among other facilities.
Ug mao na undanga nalang na BRT kay walay hinongdan ….
Dili nila kaya mag Road Widening sa tinood lang …. ug gusto jud sila mag himo nalang sila ug Skyway pra sa brt route