Cebu City urges affected property owners to attend BRT hearing

THE CEBU City Council called on affected stakeholders, including those not in the initial list of business and home owners, to attend the July 18 public hearing for the planned bus rapid transit (BRT) project to help the government finalize the right-of-way cost. The public hearing was originally set for June 13. “There’s a need to finalize the list so that we would know as to who are eligible to get resettlement and compensation from the national government,” said Councilor Joel C. Garganera. The implementation of the P10.6-billion BRT system entails lot acquisition for the sites of the stations, terminals, and depots. A list of almost 100 business and homeowners that will be affected was attached to the proposed ordinance. The Department of Transportation has initially allocated P1.2 billion for the acquisitions, but it has reportedly increased it to P5 billion. The initial tranche of the project’s budget amounting to P900 million, intended for lot acquisition, has been downloaded to the city government last month. Under a proposed city council ordinance, people who were not included on the original list can still request for inclusion through the mayor’s office, provided that they can give reasonable grounds why they failed to participate in the last survey.