EVEN with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project already set for implementation, a complete listing of property owners to be affected by the construction may have a long way to go.
Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, former head of the transportation committee, is asking for a complete list of property owners who will need compensation from the city for road right-of-way (RROW) acquisition from Rafael Yap, head of the BRT project implementation unit.
“Furnish me the names, the complete list. It is very incomplete. You’re going to finalize something that is not yet complete,” said Garganera, explaining that a complete list was needed for the approval of his ordinance on RROW compensation.
Garganera’s ordinance was deferred indefinitely following complaints from property owners who claimed to be affected by the project but were not included in the list.
Garganera’s incomplete list had only more than 100 names from four barangays: Mambaling, Labangon, Sambag 1 and Sambag 2.
Sought for comment, Yap said that even his own records were not yet complete as only affected properties that needed to be acquired by the government to allow roads to be widened along BRT terminals and stations were on his list.
The BRT route will start from Barangay Bulacao in the south all the way up to Barangay Talamban in the north, affecting a total of 21 barangays.
Yap said that in some instances, the ownership of affected properties had changed due to death of the original owner, transfer or sale of the property — a problem that could have been addressed through an “inclusion mechanism” under Garganera’s proposed ordinance.
The “inclusion mechanism” is a provision that allows property owners a certain amount of time after the ordinance is passed to either approach the mayor’s office or the City Council to appeal their inclusion into the list after showing proof that their properties were indeed affected by the BRT construction.
Phase one of the P10–16 billion BRT project is slated for implementation next year.