Mayor Osmeña vows to fight for Cebu BRT project
“I’M GOING to fight for this.” This was the statement of Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña on the decision of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to suspend the implementation of the P16.7-billion Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in the city. NEDA Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, who was in Cebu Friday for the Central Visayas stop of the Philippine Development Plan 2017–2022 road show, said the BRT implementation will be put on hold as NEDA looks into the Light Rail Transit (LRT) plan that is pushed by Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd L. Dino. “(Mr.) Pernia’s statement appears to be arbitrary, if not political. Imagine, cancelling a P16 billion project without even consulting the proponent. Reversing a NEDA Board resolution and violating a bilateral agreement whimsically on his own volition just two hours after saying it cannot be just canceled,” Mr. Osmeña said in a text message. The mayor also said that he will push through with filing a complaint with the World Bank and the French government to inform them that the Philippines is playing politics with their money. The national government signed a loan agreement for the project in 2014 with the Word Bank’s International Bank for Construction and Development. “I would like to ask Secretary Pernia a basic question. Why didn’t he consult the elected mayor of Cebu City? Does Federalism ignore locally elected officials?” Mr. Osmeña said. Rafael Christopher L. Yap, head of the BRT Project Implementation Unit, said the city will continue implementing the project, with road right-of-way acquisition in the initial stages, until it gets official word from the Department of Transportation (DoTr), the BRT implementing agency, to stop. Mr. Yap said his office will send a formal communication to DoTr to clarify Pernia’s statement. —