DOTr assures BRT for Cebu despite opposition from Dino

Usec. Thomas Orbos (right) and Asec. Arnold Fabillar (left) of the Department of Transportation with Engr. Fortunato Sanchez of the Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board, listen to Masujima Tetsuji, team leader of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Urban Transportation Planning study team as he speaks before government officials and the private sector during the Metro Cebu Transport Master Plan Study kick off meeting at the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) plenary hall.

PROPONENTS of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) are now trying to convince their biggest critic—Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino—to support the project.

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Assistant Secretary Arnold Fabillar said they have already started and will continue to have meetings with Dino to iron out misunderstandings on the project. Among others, he said they aim to convince the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Visayas (OPAV) that the BRT and LRT system can complement each other.

Speaking during the kick off meeting and introduction of a study team for the Metro Cebu Urban Transport Master Plan Study, Fabillar explained that the BRT project already has an existing loan agreement and a feasibility study.

“It’s being implemented. We’re looking forward that if nothing will block it, it will continue. By 2019, we will have a BRT in Cebu. We are having clarificatory meetings with the OPAV. We will soon have a resolution on this,” he said.

A team from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) arrived in Cebu to formulate an urban transport plan for Metro Cebu. The study, said Masujima Tetsuji, JICA team leader, starts this month and will last for 15 months.

The team is assessing Metro Cebu’s current transport problems and issues and re-evaluating identified priority projects.

A yet-to-be-determined pilot project will also be identified during the course of the study. The final report on the master plan will be presented by October next year.

DOTr Undersecretary Thomas Orbos was among those who raised concern over the “raging argument” on the BRT referring to public pronouncements made by Dino opposing the project as it will not solve Cebu’s congestion problems.

Instead, Dino is pushing for a Light Rail Transit (LRT) system while his nemesis, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, strongly backs the BRT plan.

Orbos asked the JICA study team if they will be able to put the debate to rest through their master plan.

“Can JICA resolve this issue on whether BRT can solve traffic or not? It’s a P17.7 billion project. It’s very critical. If it won’t work, it will be a waste of P17.7 billion,” he said.

In response, Tetsuji clarified that JICA cannot make a distinct judgment on the BRT but will come up with technical assessments like transport demand, the reduction of transport costs and other surveys in relation to the traffic situation here.