Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson told a reporter that trees along the roads must give way to road projects.
In other words, if the trees obstruct the road right of way, they have to be cut down or else the people will continue to suffer narrow roads.
It is sad that we are being made to think that one or the other has to be sacrificed. But is it not possible to have both wider roads and trees? The trees the Secretary refers to were painstakingly planted years ago.
We have witnessed the transplanting of trees to public places like Plaza Independencia where they can be safely nurtured. With today’s technology, we can earth-ball full grown trees by the roots and carefully transfer them without killing them.
This remedy really needs a lot of planning to be effective.
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It is so sad to note that classrooms in areas struck by supertyphoon Yolanda have yet to be built though classes started yesterday. I cannot imagine where teachers and students are meeting for class. I do not know if the alternative environment is conducive to learning.
Why is it taking a seeming eternity for the national government to solve the problem of flattened or damaged classrooms. This could have been done in the summer if not immediately after the supertyphoon. Red tape is eating our lives today so much so that those who ought to be prioritized are neglected.
Look at our public school teachers who demand a salary increase. The national government said it has no funds to accommodate their demand. So how come so much money was wasted in pork barrel funds for members of Congress?
There is no question that teachers have been working double-time but sadly the government took quite some time to act on the need to adjust their salaries. I pray that the government prioritizes giving teachers the benefits they deserve.
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The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is welcomed among Cebu City residents to deal with the worsening traffic and the need for mass transport.
However, Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. of the 1st district is not giving up on the proposal for a Light Rail Transit (LRT) to transport people from Carcar City in the south to Danao City in the north.
His grandfather, former congressman Eduardo Gullas advocated setting up the LRT to decongest traffic in the major thoroughfares in the province of Cebu. He even wanted a railway built from Argao town in the south to Carmen town in the north.
The train, according to Gullas, is more practical because it can transport goods as well as passengers. He said both the BRT and LRT can coexist and work wonders for the people of Cebu.
However, the LRT is very expensive. The entire country is subsidizing the operation of Manila’s LRT. If only we could surmount the financial challenge.
Having both the bus-based transit and the rail-based system may not be feasible. We have a national government that is unfriendly to its local counterparts and unsupportive of its programs.