BUS STATION. This is the architectural design of one of the stations of the Cebu City Bus Rapid Transit project. —FACEBOOK
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu Provincial government wants ‘just compensation’ from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) as the latter is set to start civil works for the much-delayed Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).
Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia confirmed to members of the media that the Capitol discovered that components of the Cebu BRT would encroach on several ‘road lots’ they owned.
Garcia, however, stressed that this did not mean they would block the proponents from implementing the P17-billion mass transport project.
“Ang position nato ani sa province nga – di man mi muingon og ayaw – pero dunay just compensation sa Province of Cebu for using our property,” she said in a press interview on Thursday, Feb. 23.
(Our position in the province in this is — we won’t say no — but there will be just compensation for the Province of Cebu for using our property.)
The governor disclosed that during their meeting with the Cebu group from DOTr last Wednesday, Feb. 22, which was headed by Engineer Norvin Imbong, that portions of some Capitol-owned properties along Osmeña Boulevard and N. Bacalso Avenue, designated as road lots, would be used to erect bus stations.
DOTr will also be utilizing these lots in constructing a drainage to support the Cebu BRT’s operations.
“Dili namo hilabtan (ang Cebu BRT), but you have to pay… you have to give just compensation to the Province of Cebu for using our property,” Garcia said.
(We will not touch it (the Cebu BRT), but you have to pay…you have to give just compensation to the Province of Cebu for using our property.)
This is not the first time the provincial government asked entities to pay up for using their properties. To recall, the governor earlier requested several utility firms, including telecommunication firms or telcos, to give them just compensation for using portions of their lands.
DOTr, together with the Cebu City government, will finally break ground for the Cebu BRT after the project remained in the pipeline for almost two decades.
President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. will lead the ceremonial groundbreaking, which will be held along Osmeña Boulevard, this Monday, Feb. 27.
Former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, credited as the brains behind the Cebu BRT, was also invited to attend the event.
The Cebu BRT, a bus-based transport system, was introduced as one of the solutions to Cebu City’s traffic woes.
The project received the backing of international financial institutions like the World Bank, in the form of multi-million dollar loans.
However, it has incurred multiple delays over the years, with reasons ranging from concerns over it not being feasible to changes in its design and routes.
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