Fair consensus on the BRT
There seems to be confusion nowadays on the fate of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in Cebu City. Even as the City Government and concerned government agencies say they are proceeding with the implementation of the project, voices like those of National Economic Development (Neda) Secretary Ernesto Pernia and just the other day a Department of Transportation (DOTr) statement gave the impression the project’s implementation would be put on hold.
Days after Pernia made known his stand, a statement attributed to Neda’s Public Relations Division contradicted the views of its own chief, noting that “all decisions concerning infrastructure projects go through collegial discussions to reach a collective and optimal decision.”
The seeming confusion actually stems from the push and pull by the pros, as represented by Mayor Tomas Osmeña and the antis represented by Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino, and reflects the lack of consensus on the matter as yet. There also seems to be a push and pull between the chiefs of concerned agencies and the functionaries of their departments, like what is happening in Neda.
Pernia changed his “BRT is a go” statement to “the BRT implelentation would be put on hold” after he talked with Dino. Dino’s office was also the one that released to the media the DOTr statement. This shows that Dino’s stand favoring the putting on hold the BRT project implementation is already etched in stone. Meanwhile, Osmeña seems to be hoping that Pernia will eventually be overruled by Neda’s Investment Coordination Committee.
The Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) is therefore in an awkward position on the issue considering that it has already made a stand. Ideally, the OPAV should have been neutral in order to present an objective report to the president. But in this setup, the pro-BRT sector may need to go directly to the president to be able to present its side on the matter.
Still, the hope is that despite the intense lobbying by the pro and the antis, all those concerned, including the President, would reach a consensus that would be devoid of the biases and politicking that are the undercurrent in much of the recent BRT discussion.