One Time, Big Time…… dream

During the early part of the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, there was developed and promoted a kind of an operation plan called “One Time, Big Time” (OT, BT). While it was announced as a plan hatched from the mind of then police general (now senator) Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa, it was widely believed to be emanating from the genius of the past president. As we came to know it, the OTBT operations were intensified and synchronized anti-drug raids conducted by Philippine police targeting multiple high-value suspects and drug dens simultaneously in specific areas. Massive was the best descriptive word to the said police operations. The most well-known and controversial OTBT operation was that one conducted in Bulacan on August 15-16, 2017, where 32 suspects were killed and 109 arrested in a single day of operations. Critics belonging to our older generations claimed that such anti-drug oplan was not entirely different in concept from Operation Overlord of the Second World War.

That being so, let me talk about Operation Overlord. It started with the Battle of Normandy on June 6, 1944 when land, air, and sea forces of the allied armies were assembled to become known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history. That the invasion force involved a staggering number of personnel was a point of comparison with OTBT which supposedly engaged the whole PNP organization. But, what many historians would not dwell on was the kind of infrastructure that the Operation Overlord undertook. Even if it was scantly mentioned, available accounts revealed that Allied Forces undertook massive road, bridge, and infrastructure construction immediately following the D-Day landings at Normandy all designed to facilitate the attack on Germany.

Here is where I dream of a “One Time, Big Time Operation Overlord” kind of an infrastructure plan for Cebu City. I am certain that our city officialdom knows that our city streets are old and narrow. In fact, most of our roads were not results of careful planning. They were built along the land holdings of powerful and influential families. If a drone were flown above our city and vivid pictures were taken, we would be aghast to find out that our avenues are observably made crooked as they were obviously constructed to owned by moneyed families.

For a starter, let us admit that many of our streets are narrow. Well, they were wide enough when few tartanillas (and jeepneys) rolled over them. The littleness of their width was still sufficient for the small number of cars then running. There were then no SUVs competing against thousands of motorcycles for road space. Really, that was decades ago. Since the days these roads were built, they have not been widened to absorb increasing volume of vehicular traffic. Glaring examples are seen in the North District: Bonifacio Street in Barangay Tinago, Cabantan Street in Barangay Mabolo, Urgello Street in Barangay Sambag Dos and S Cabahug Street in Barangay Kasambagan.

Bonifacio Street must be widened and at its eastern end there is a need to punch thru the reclamation area while at its western end to extend it until the Osmeña Boulevard. A widened and lengthened Bonifacio Street will help absorb the traffic from the pier area to midtown Cebu City.

The same need is true as regards Cabantan Street. It can help decongest the Ayala traffic if Cabantan Street is widened and lengthened. This narrow road ends in the area near a private memorial garden Mabolo and at Archbishop Reyes Avenue. If both ends are extended, one towards the north reclamation area and the other towards Gorordo Avenue, the humongous daily traffic jams near the SM and Ayala malls will be reduced to a much comfortable level.

The thousands of residents in Barangays Sambag Uno and Sambag Dos suffer daily traffic congestion. If Visitacion Street is widened and extended to V Rama Avenue, the improved flow of vehicular traffic will save millions of pesos caused by delayed traffic.

There are other parts of the city where the narrow and crooked roads have to be widened. The three I have mentioned above are among those needing immediate attention. Of course, the budgetary expense needed is mind blowing and that is why the projects to address these concerns require One Time Big Time Operation Overlord kind of focus.