BRT Cebu image – Source DOTC
“Political, if not graft.”
This was how Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña described the decision of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) to temporarily halt the implementation of the P16.9 billion Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project to give way for the Light Rail Transit (LRT).
Osmeña said NEDA’s decision is a sign that there is a collusion between the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino and his rivals in politics.
“Dino is trying to block BRT which is already in the ICU. It is ready to give birth. LRT does not exist. You have to wait for ten years for that,” he said.
Osmeña added that the BRT was supposed to be immediately implemented once completed to ease the traffic situation in the city.
Osmeña also said that he can tell that corruption is involved based on NEDA Secretary Ernesto Pernia’s body language.
“Mr. Pernia, baho kaayo na. (You smell bad). Shame on you,” he said.
Pernia did not only embarrass the President, the office he represents, but he is also embarrassing the entire country, according to Osmeña.
Should Pernia try to influence the board and pursue with the cancellation of the BRT project, Osmeña said a case will be filed against him. He added that Pernia should not meddle with the city’s own initiative.
“I will file a case to the Ombudsman. That is abuse of authority. The implementing agency is the DOTr (Department of Transportation). He cannot stop it like the way he said he will stop it. He will swallow his words,” warns the city mayor.
Osmeña that he will be sending a letter to President Rodrigo Duterte, to the World Bank and to the French government to inform them that Pernia “is playing with their money.”
Dino, Osmeña alleges, is negotiating with a Singaporean contractor to work on the LRT project. He said the LRT will come from a “designated and selected“ contractor.
“Maybe Pernia and Dino talked about it (the money they will getting from the LRT project). Nagsiga ang mata ni Pernia so they said ‘okay, let us put this on hold’ (Pernia’s eye widely opened and said ‘okay, let us put this on hold),” said Osmeña, urgin Dino to be transparent with his LRT proposal.
In BRT, the buses that will be acquired will undergo bidding to avoid corruption according to Osmeña.
The city mayor also clarified that the budget for the first phase of the project ballooned to P16.9 million from its original P10.6 billion because of the newly implemented Right-of-Way Act. However, the project remains feasible, says Osmeña.
Under ROW, properties shall not be taken for public use without just compensation based on market value instead of the zonal value.
The DOTr earlier justified that based on the Project Evaluation Report done in 2012, the BRT project was considered as having “very robust economic internal rate of return of 37.24 percent.”
“What is the return rate of LRT? They have to pay more,” Osmeña said.
The LRT project proposed by Dino is pegged at $3 billion or about P150 billion.