BRT budget now P16.3B

CEBU, Philippines — Officials of Cebu City government heaved a sigh of relief yesterday after the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board approved the additional P5.67 billion budget for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

From P10.6 billion, the budget is now P16.3 billion.

The additional budget was approved during a meeting in Malacañang yesterday where the board discussed several infrastructure projects.

Yap said he came to know of the approval from Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary Arnold Fabillar who attended the NEDA Board meeting.

“This is the final approval, so, BRT Project is really a ‘GO’ project,” reads part of Fabillar’s text message to Yap.

“The Board’s approval signifies a confirmation of BRT’s viability for Cebu City despite recent criticisms leveled against its implementation. It also signifies the commitment to the Duterte administration’s Build Build Build program of infrastructure development which the Cebu BRT project is part,” Yap said. .

Mayor Tomas Osmeña, Representative Raul del Mar, City Administrator Nigel Paul Villarete were “elated and relieved” after learning that the budget for lot acquisition was approved.

Yap said the city government will continue to send notices to owners of properties that will be affected in the implementation of the BRT project.

“This approval is the culmination of the NEDA’s Investment Coordination Committee - Cabinet Committee endorsement last August 14, 2017 which found the project still very much economically viable notwithstanding the increase in cost,” Yap said.

He said the increase in project cost was due to the passage of Republic Act 10752 or The Right of Way Act, which requires government implementing agencies to offer the market value of properties to be acquired for infrastructure projects.

He said the new Right of Way Act was intended to facilitate land acquisition proceedings, adding, that it is the main reason for delays in government infrastructure projects.

Villarete, for his part, said he had no doubt on the fate of BRT project under the NEDA Board.

“The Cebu BRT has undergone utmost and unrelenting rigor in project development spanning nine years. While the 53 percent EIRR (economic internal rate of return) would surely clinch the approval process, everyone knows there were detractors and naysayers who want to destroy instead of build,” he said.

Del Mar, for his part, said he already knew that the NEDA Board would approve the budget when he met Secretary Ernesto Pernia in Congress weeks ago.

To recall, NEDA Secretary Pernia was in Cebu on August 4 for an event. He was asked on the status of the BRT project to which he responded that the project was already in the advanced stages of approval.

However, Pernia "changed" his statement after meeting Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino who is pushing for a light rail transit project for Metro Cebu and who is openly criticizing BRT project.

After that meeting, Pernia was quoted that the BRT should be stalled.

On August 8, NEDA issued a statement on its website saying Pernia could not, by himself, put the BRT project on hold.

The following day, DOTr issued a separate press release saying the department was putting the BRT project on hold following the recent pronouncements of NEDA.

Dino, ‘transport expert’ Rene Santiago, and former mayor Alvin Garcia are among those who oppose the BRT.

They believe that the BRT will worsen, instead of address, the traffic situation here.

In a message to The FREEMAN yesterday, Dino said, "let's wait for the result of the review by the Department of Transportation."

Study

Meanwhile, the Cebu City Council has passed several resolutions yesterday aiming to improve the traffic situation here, including asking for a copy of the feasibility study of the BRT project.

During its regular session yesterday, Councilor James Anthony Cuenco delivered a privilege speech expressing the need to address the road congestion in the city.

“Allow me to put it on record that I am all for a mass transport system – and a good one, which will allow our commuting public to get to their destinations at the least cost and in good time – and will displace the current public transport system, which has been in place since the end of the second world war and has contributed to the gridlock on the roads which are experiencing every day,” he said.

Cuenco proposed nine motions that the Council approved. These include the request of the legislative body to BRT-Project Implementation Unit to furnish all Councilors a copy of the BRT feasibility study.

Cuenco said he found out that the feasibility study was marked “confidential,” which should have been made public, considering that it is a public document.

As policymakers, he said, councilors should have access to the study so that they can examine the study and create legislation to allow for better implementation of the project, if needed.

Although the study was presented to the Council years ago, Cuenco said he was confused of the headway part of the BRT. He said that while it was reported the BRT will have a 30-second headway, the study reportedly showed it will actually have a four-minute headway.

Cuenco said councilors should also examine the report that there will be no special lane for the BRT along the Banilad-Talamban route, which is already congested.

He said the City Budget Office should also include in the next budget the timed traffic light operating system as detailed in the BRT study. He said the City Transportation Office should also secure a new system with operation center and implement the same as soon as possible.

Councilor Margarita Osmeña agreed that the council should have the chance to scrutinize the feasibility study and can call the BRT-PIU anytime to discuss issues involving the project, if there will be any.

Villarete whom the mayor tasked to oversee the BRT project said he will furnish a copy of the feasibility study to the councilors.

“By all means. Let's ask DOTr/NEDA for copies of the FS (feasibility study),” Villarete said. — With Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon (FREEMAN)