Samsam stresses need for LRT

CEBU, Philippines - A Light Rail Transit (LRT) system is increasingly becoming necessary in Cebu amid the national government’s proposal to link the province with Iloilo, Guimaras, and Negros through a network of bridges, a Cebuano lawmaker said.

The Department of Public Works and Highways earlier said the bridge network connecting the four islands in the Visayas will cost about $1 billion and is seen to be completed within the term of President Duterte.

DPWH Secretary Mark Villar branded it as the “most ambitious bridge program in the history of our nation,” replacing San Juanico Bridge as the longest in the country.

Cebu First District Representative Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas said linking the four islands may spur migration in Cebu, being the center of commerce in the Visayas. Hence, a system that can effectively move people around is needed.

“Metro Cebu needed the LRT system years ago – long before we dreamed of putting up two to 10-kilometer bridges coupling the four provinces. Now that the Department of Public Works and Highways has resolved to build those bridges, we need those overhead commuter trains all the more,” Gullas said in a press statement.

Gullas said Cebu is the fastest-growing economy in the Visayas, with daily minimum wage pegged at P366 for non-farm workers in the private sector, the highest outside Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon.

He added that aside from people wanting to earn a living, students are also likely to transfer to Cebu to enroll in higher institutions.

According to Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino, the feasibility study for the Cebu LRT project has already been completed. Only the evaluation and approval of the Department of Transportation is needed.

Gullas thanked Dino on his efforts to let the administration of President Duterte acknowledge the LRT project.

Gullas’ grandfather, former congressman now Talisay City Mayor Eduardo Gullas, first proposed the LRT project Cebu during his stint as a lawmaker.

Samsam is lobbying for a similar bill in the present congress with his House Bill 787, which proposes the first LRT line to run from Talisay City to Mandaue City.

But he added that he would support a longer line from Carcar City all the way to Danao City, saying that the greater the number of Cebuanos will benefit from the project, the better.

He then explained that the air distance between Talisay and Mandaue is around 15 kilometers, while the air distance between Carcar and Danao is about 60 kilometers.

Air distance refers to the distance between two destinations if  traveled by air in a straight line.

The amount of budget to be used will depend on the final length of the initial line of the LRT project, with an estimated cost from P50 billion to P150 billion. —/JMD (FREEMAN)