Duterte attendance at 3rd bridge launch confirmed

CEBU, Philippines - President Duterte will lead on March 2 the groundbreaking ceremony for the multi-billion Cebu Cordova Link Expressway, the third bridge connecting mainland Cebu to the island of Mactan.

"Yes, he will be here on March 2. But I am not yet so sure about the time but perhaps around 3 p.m.," said Michael Lloyd Dino, presidential assistant for the Visayas, in a press conference yesterday.

Dino said as one of the president’s trusted aide in the Visayas, he will be present during the rites.

Dino also said Osmeña’s presence there, if indeed he will grace the event, will only be ceremonial as he was not part when the project was hatched.

“It was approved in the past administration. I don’t think he (Osmeña) has something to do with it. Si (Adelino) Sitoy gyud has a big role to play in that project. Kana kang Tomas kay ceremonial na lang nang iyaha,” said Dino.

Sitoy was the mayor of Cordova when the groundwork for the construction of the third bridge was ironed out. Now, he heads the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office.

Dino, who is mired in a word fight with Osmeña, said he is willing to shake hands with Osmeña during the groundbreaking, just like what he did during the Miss Universe event here.

"I am a civil person. I even shook his hands during the Miss Universe. But I guess he was shocked at that time and realized later that it was me shaking his hands," Dino recalled.

Cordova Mayor Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho on Wednesday said the completion of the third bridge will surely decongest the traffic situation in Metro Cebu and, at the same time, improve the economic status of his constituents.

Cho said the third bridge will also lessen the traffic burden of people from the southern part of Cebu in going to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

The bridge, which is projected to cost P22 billion, will also allow Cordova to transform itself into a highly-urbanized city in Metro Cebu and a competitive ecotourism gateway in the Visayas, Cho added.

To be built under a private-public partnership (PPP) scheme, the project will enable the local government units of Cebu City and Cordova to provide constituents with the badly needed infrastructure through private sector funding.

Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corporation (MPTDC), through its subsidiary, the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC), will design, build and operate the bridge.  (FREEMAN)