EDITORIAL - A major Duterte legacy

Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino assured that the government will implement both the Light Rail Transit system and the Bus Rapid Transit system in Metro Cebu in the remaining years of the Duterte administration.

During the unity and solidarity meeting of incoming officials in Cebu, Dino explained that both the LRT and BRT systems will go hand-in-hand under the Integrated Inter-Modal Transport System (IIMTS) that the national government is pushing for Cebu.

The two systems have been battling against each other for existence for years. Since the 1990s, First District Representative Eduardo Gullas has been pushing for the LRT from Carcar City to Danao City. But the project failed to gain ground.

Saying it is cost-efficient, more practical, and easy to implement, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has been batting for the BRT for years. The problem, however, is that only Cebu City would stand to benefit from the project.

There seems to be no clear winner between the two systems. Under the early years of the Duterte administration, the proponents of each system have been moving heaven and earth for appropriations from government agencies as they fiercely compete for priority.

Now, it’s good that the national government has decided to implement the two mass transport systems under the IIMTS. Dino is very confident that the LRT will be realized, saying documents have already been submitted for a Swiss challenge.

Cebu City and the rest of the metro have long been in need of a modern mass transport system. The absence of such infrastructure has been a major hindrance to the effort to attract more investors and tourists to the province.

Cebuanos are hopeful that the national government will vigorously push for the fulfillment of its promise of putting up the IIMTS in Metro Cebu. Its realization will surely be the Duterte administration’s biggest legacy to them.