No viable plan

Anything that the officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways thought as a solution to traffic woes when they pursue shutting down the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge for major repair would always land on the newspaper. But The Ear informer from the island city of Lapu-Lapu said nothing in those suggested solutions were viable.

Increasing the number of ferryboats and barges were among the plans that, officials say, would somehow ease the traffic situation along the Marcelo Fernan Bridge and its attaching roads. But ordinary commuters said the plan to deploy barges for the vehicles is a "stupid" suggestion. Aside from the barge fee in ferrying vehicles seen as one predicament, it poses danger along the narrow Mactan Channel.

The problem cannot be solved by simply telling the media of its solutions, and it requires tedious planning, not series of presscons and media interviews by the officials concerned, said The Ear informer.