Duterte to implement LRT in Cebu: Samsam

Gullas supports emergency powers for Digong

CEBU Rep. Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas (Cebu, 1st District) believes that giving emergency powers to President Rodrigo Duterte will speed up the process of establishing Light Rail Transit (LRT) systems across the country, including Cebu.

Gullas told reporters yesterday that he supports plans to grant Duterte emergency powers to address traffic issues in Metro Manila and Cebu.

He supports the creation of a bill that will grant emergency powers to the President to fasttrack the implementation of an LRT in Cebu.

Gullas said that once Duterte is granted emergency powers, the worsening traffic in Metro Manila and other areas in the country can be solved through the implementation of new transport schemes such as the LRT and the Bus Rapid Transit.

He was glad that Duterte and Michael Diño, presidential assistant for the Visayas, are supportive of his plan to introduce LRT in Cebu.

Gullas was reportedly assured by Diño that even if he does not file a bill before Congress, the Duterte administration will ensure that the LRT will be implemented in Cebu.

“So I’m hopeful. It is one of the priority projects of the President and I’m very hopeful that it can be achieved in his term,” Gullas said.

Not discussed

During his first term as congressman, Gullas filed House Bill 1338 seeking to implement an LRT system in Cebu.

But even though the bill was referred to the House committee on transportation, it was never approved.

Dino recently disclosed that a Singapore-based firm is in Cebu to conduct a survey on the viability of a proposed LRT system in the province.

Dino said that even though it might take billions of pesos just for the project to push through, the National Government plans to do it through public-pri- vate partnerships.

Also, Cebu Rep. Benhur Salimbangon (Cebu, 4th district) and 10 other congressmen filed House Bill 3, which grants emergency powers to the President to address the traffic congestion in Cebu and the rest of the country.

Salimbangon and other proponents of the proposed law expects Malacañang to certify the bill as urgent due to the worsening traffic in the country. JKV