Let’s hope Traffic Summit today won’t get stuck

When Metro Cebu’s mayors meet today in a Traffic Summit at the Capitol, at least one mayor won’t be around. Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he will not attend because he’s “not part of Mega Cebu.” The mayor said he would rather deal directly with the mayors in coming up with ways to fix Metro Cebu’s traffic and transportation problems.

The summit will not be lost opportunity for Cebu City to work with other towns and cities to address traffic management in the metro: mayor Metro Cebu mayors, traffic managers, city or municipal engineers and planning officers are set to meet to discuss the worsening traffic and to find solutions

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will not attend the traffic summit organized by Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board (MCDCB) today, saying he is not part of the board.

In his news conference yesterday, Osmeña clarified that Cebu City is not part of MCDCB.

“I’m not attending because I’m not part of Mega Cebu (MCDCB), I want to make that clear. If we were just to discuss, why not, but the problem of these people is that they think that I’m under them. I’m not Mega Cebu,” he told reporters.

Osmeña said he will just deal with the traffic problem directly with mayors of different local government units (LGU).

“I have done more for traffic in Cebu than all the mayors combined. I will not get involved with Mega Cebu, I will just deal with the other city mayors. I will talk to (Mandaue City Mayor) Luigi (Quisumbing) on how we handle A.S. Fortuna that connects to Cebu City. Mega Cebu is a fly by night NGO (nongovernment

Meeting agenda

Osmeña said the summit will not be a lost opportunity for Cebu City to work with other towns and cities regarding traffic management as MCDCB has yet to come up with a solution to the problem.

The mayor said he will just let the board show that it can address the traffic concern.

Metro Cebu mayors, traffic managers, city or municipal engineers, and planning officers are set to meet today at the Capitol Social Hall to discuss the worsening traffic condition and to find solutions.

During the summit, representatives from the Japan International Cooperation Agency ( JICA) is also expected to provide updates on the traffic situation in Metro Cebu.

When he assumed office in 2016, Osmeña said that Cebu City would no longer be part of MCDCB, which is composed of 13 towns and cities, since it doesn’t have any authority to convene LGUs.

I will not get involved with Mega Cebu. I will just deal with the other city mayors... Mega Cebu is a fly by night NGO (nongovernment organization), a self-proclaimed expert

TOMAS OSMEÑA

Cebu City Mayor