Talisay City officials shared Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s position not to allow the eight-hour closure of the Cebu City side of the Cebu South Coastal Road in order to accommodate the bike leg competition of the annual Ironman triathlon event.
Vice Mayor Allan Bucao said while the city cannot expect any benefits from the event, they pay for the traffic enforcers and policemen tasked to help secure the biking event participants.
Bucao said only the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu reap the tourism revenue benefits of hosting the Ironman event. He agreed that closing the south coastal road or the north road leading to Liloan town will inconvenience the riding public.
Bucao said it is about time to transfer the Ironman to other areas like Bohol province or even Camiguin province in northern Mindanao where traffic is not a problem.