MIKE, TOMAS ON THE SAME SIDE

BOTH PRO BRT 

They sit on the opposing sides of the political fence but former Cebu City mayor Michael Rama, bucking the position taken by his allies in the barangays, yesterday declared he supports the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project of his archrival Mayor Tomas Osmeña.

Rama said that even when he was mayor, he has been supportive of the BRT project and he cannot change his stand now.

To Rama, the P10-billion project only needs refinement, reconfiguration or redesigning but not an outright cancellation.

“If you talk about (the BRT project) failing, it is a conclusion. That is prejudging. I would rather agree that if you really want (to find out whether or not the BRT is a viable project), we probably have to bring this to everybody’s concern than outrightly make judgment or conclusion,” he said.

Rama’s pronouncement came barely 24 hours after 65 of the 80 village chairmen belonging to the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC)-Cebu City Chapter led by Philip Zafra, a Rama ally, signed a manifesto expressing their reservations about the project.

The manifesto called on the project proponents to review the BRT and take into account the points raised by engineer Rene Santiago, a freelance consultant for transportation who had argued that a BRT transport system is not fit for Cebu City, given its narrow roads.

Santiago’s arguments are now being used by Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino, who is also at a loggerhead with Osmeña, to back his contention that BRT should be scrapped. Dino has instead proposed a Light Rail Transport (LRT) system, a P50-billion north-to-south railway system covering 74 kilometers that is expected to break ground next year.

For Rama, however, the BRT can co-exist with LRT. Moreover, he said, the BRT project has already gone through exhaustive deliberation and consultations. If canceled, he said, the effort of the Aquino administration — including other agencies, which approved the project before — will go to waste.

Rama said the proponents should instead take a second look at the project to decide where it could be improved.

As to the positions taken by Santiago, Rama asked: “Where was he (Santiago)? Why was he not there? He should have talked to me. He should have visited me at that time when I was the mayor. I was the mayor twice. Where was he?” The priority now is on how the city will address the worsening traffic, he said.

Rama said he also would not to fault the barangay captains for signing the manifesto since they have every right to air their reservation about the BRT.

However, he believed that in the end, what the barangay captains did is just for the proponents to give the project a second look so it can be improved.

‘Not so palatable

“I am not going to be a spoiler but let the matter be put in the proper perspective. I just felt (it is) not so palatable when you try to say ‘I will go to the president and ask for the cancellation of BRT,’ he said.

Rama was apparently referring to Dino’s pronouncement that he would recommend to the President to cancel the BRT project. “I am not happy with the word ‘cancellation.’ I welcome the word from the (barangay) captains, reservation,” Rama added.

As to the LRT project, Rama said he fully supports the project for as long as it would not affect any heritage site.

Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, also of Team Rama, shared the former mayor’s sentiment about the need to push through with the BRT.

He said the city government, along with other stakeholders, should look into the matter with prudence and circumspection. Labella clarified that the recent move of ABC was neither to object the project nor to favor a cancellation.

He said they only considered the opinion of Santiago. “Considering there is a new opinion of an alleged expert, a month or two of further study, I think it would be sufficient rather than having it canceled. That is my opinion,” he said.

He said one of the factors that the city should look into is the widening of roads, which will be part of the bus route once the BRT is implemented.

No stopping BRT

Mayor Osmeña, on the other hand, stressed during his State of the City Address (Soca) yesterday that there will be no stopping of the BRT. Osmeña, instead, raised doubts in the sustainability of an LRT system in the city.

“The people in Cebu City don’t all live in one area and work in one area. People travel in all directions during the day. One train route cannot service everyone,” he earlier explained via a post on his Facebook page on Tuesday. Still, the mayor stressed he was not completely against operating a railway system in Cebu.

“I don’t object to LRT plus BRT. But I object to canceling BRT to make way for the LRT… that won’t happen,”  Osmeña added.

The mayor said that not only has the engineering design for BRT been completed, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) found the BRT project “so feasible” that the agency increased its budget from P10 billion to P17 billion.

The mayor said it was okay for him to have critics scrutinizing the BRT project but he questioned Dino’s basis for objecting to the project.

“I would also like to clearly remind Mr. Dino that he works for and represents the President. President Duterte has approved the Edsa BRT on September 14, 2016. Dino said that the BRT is anti-poor. He is insulting the administration he represents,” Osmeña said in his Soca speech.

Osmeña added Dino’s “anti-poor BRT” stance is also an insult to the World Bank and French Government, which spent about a million dollars for the project’s feasibility study; as well as to the Neda board that is composed of several cabinet secretaries – Departments of Budget Management (DBM), Trade and Industry (DTI), Finance (DOF); and the Central Bank governor, among others.

“If Mr. Dino thinks he can do better a job working on Cebu’s needs, he has the right to run for mayor of Cebu City in 2019 and let the Cebuanos decide,” Osmeña added.

Challenge

But Dino instead challenged Osmeña to answer the points raised by Santiago against BRT.

Dino said Osmeña should present his own bases and answer Santiago’s presentation point by point.

“Atong expert (Santiago) naay gipangsulti na mga facts. I am challenging the mayor (Osmeña) to answer (Rene Santiago’s presentation),” Dino said in a phone interview.

Dino said he will submit his position papers this week to Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Finance (DOF), National Economic and Development Authority (Neda-7) and to the Office of the President on his stand why there is a need to cancel the BRT project in Cebu City.

“Yes (possible to cancel the project) especially if it is disadvantageous and if there is a need to cut the losses,” Dino said in a phone interview yesterday.

Last weekend, Santiago presented his stand on BRT project for Cebu City during the Metro Cebu Transport Stakeholders Forum in Barangay Mabolo.

Physical limitations like the two-lane roads was one of the reasons raised by Santiago why BRT will likely fail.

For Santiago, the BRT project in Cebu City is already four years behind its schedule and ominously treading the Hanoi, Vietnam BRT experience.

The Hanoi BRT’s planning started in 2004 and the World Bank loan approval was in July 2007 and opened in December 2016. The Hanoi BRT was a $100-million project with 23 stations running 14.5 kilometers.

Regional Development Council in Central Visayas (RDC-7) chairman Kenneth Cobonpue, meanwhile, said RDC-7 is willing to listen to the pros and cons of the BRT.

“We need to look at the feasibility or financial viability of the project since the cost has ballooned to P16 billion and will likely to go up when it’s time to be implemented,” Cobonpue said.

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