Road repairs in Cebu City face delays: Garcia urges patience

This February 24, 2025 photo shows an unfinished road project along the northbound lane of F. Llamas St. in Brgy. Punta Princesa in Cebu City. That has remained a single lane for a long time now due to stalled excavations, worsening the congestion on this already busy road. File photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City is facing road repair delays due to jurisdictional issues, prompting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia to call for public understanding.

The city government’s ongoing road asphalting program has been slowed down despite coordination with all barangays, as some roads fall outside its jurisdiction or are privately owned.

In a recent press conference, Garcia explained that while the city has already coordinated with all barangays regarding the ongoing road improvements, progress remains uneven.

He said the city is prioritizing streets based on severity rather than location, resulting in a staggered implementation.

READ: Why does gov’t repair roads that are still in good condition?

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“Naka-touch base nata sa tanang barangay when it comes sa road asphalting pero dili pa kompleto. If the quest is 10 streets, maybe 5 pa unya mubalhin nasad ta ug laing barangay aron makatilaw sa ang uban sa aspalto nga dalan,” Garcia told reporters.

(We have already touched base with all the barangays regarding the road asphalting, but it’s not yet complete. If the target is 10 streets, maybe we’ve done 5, then we will move to another barangay to allow others to experience the asphalting.)

“It is not based on barangay but the quality of the roads. If severe nga guba kaayo, then man gyud na atong unahon,” he added.

(It is not based on barangay but on the quality of the roads. If the road is severely damaged, then that is really what we will prioritize.)

Garcia also clarified that some roads cannot be repaired immediately because they fall under the jurisdiction of the national government or are privately owned.

In these cases, the city government must first seek proper clearance before proceeding.

“I am appealing to our kaigsuonan to be more patient and realize that some streets we cannot asphalt. Why? Because it’s privately owned, or it’s under the jurisdiction of the national government. Nakakuha man kog mga texts and messages only to find out nga privately owned diay. So, instances like that, we have to ask consent from the owner to be able to asphalt the street,” he added.

(I am appealing to our fellow citizens to be more patient and understand that some streets cannot be asphalted. Why? Because they are privately owned or fall under the jurisdiction of the national government. I’ve received texts and messages only to find out that the roads are privately owned. In these instances, we have to ask for the owner’s consent before we can asphalt the street.)

On March 26, the Cebu City Council approved Supplemental Budget No. 1 (SB1). The approved budget of P587.7 million was reduced from the original proposal of P635 million.

Major revisions included reducing allocations for infrastructure and livelihood programs to increase employee incentives. Specifically, the road asphalting fund was reduced from P140 million to P100 million.

Additionally, the proposed budget for the livelihood program, originally P100 million, was first cut to P88 million before being entirely scrapped. /clorenciana