NEW YEAR RUSH/DEC. 28, 2013: Passengers and bus operators may heave a sigh of relief as Capitol assures that the Cebu South Bus Terminal will not be fully privatized. The plan is only for a partnership with a private entity, and the province will consult stakeholders.
It will be a partnership with the private sector and not full privatization of the Cebu South Bus Terminal, so transport operators and commuters need not worry, Capitol officials assured yesterday.
Ramon Dumayac Jr., operations manager of the terminal, said the provincial government will not fully relinquish the operations to the private sector because what is being planned is a public-private partnership.
The south bus terminal is income-generating so there is no reason to turn it over fully to the private sector, he added.
Last year, the terminal earned more than P60 million and spent only about P20 million for its operations. The province owns and manages the terminal.
Provincial Information Officer Ethel Natera also said it will be impossible to turn over the terminal completely to the private sector.
She clarified that the proposed partnership was from the Toyo University of Japan and not from the Provincial Economics Enterprise Committee (EEC).
In a phone interview, Natera told Cebu Daily News that Toyo University has yet to provide details of the proposal, which she stressed will be subject for consultation.
She said Toyo University officials had invited the governor to go with them to Japan to discuss the plan. They met the governor last January and talked about how services at and profits from the terminal operation and other provincial properties could be maximized.
Four weeks ago, the governor said in a press conference that bus operators should stop worrying because they will be consulted before any agreement is implemented. He also took note of the Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Association and the Cebu South Mini Bus Operators Association’s proposal to form a cooperative to manage the terminal.