City Council endorses LRT with subway

So that the Light Railway Transit (LRT) would not compete with existing vehicular traffic, the Cebu City Council has declared its support for the establishment of a subway component for this mass transport system.

In an 8-7 vote, the council approved the resolution of Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia endorsing an underground component for an LRT system in the city.

During the regular session last June 26, seven opposition councilors voted in favor of the resolution, while seven administration councilors voted against. Since there was a tie, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, who presides over the council, had to break it. He voted for approval.

Before the votes, the administration councilors raised several concerns on the matter.

During a heated discussion that lasted some 30 minutes, majority floor leader Margarita Osmeña suggested that a presentation on the feasibility report of an LRT subway system be presented to the council before it can officially declare its support.

The same concerns were raised by Councilors Eugenio Gabuya Jr. and Jerry Guardo.

General language

Councilor Garcia emphasized that his resolution pushes for a mass transport system that will not compete with the city’s existing road capacity.

Although he is not against a subway component, Councilor Joy Augustus Young said it might be better to make the endorsement more general.

“It is quite specific. Why not make it more general to improve mass transport? Why don’t we expand the resolution before we decide on something we’re not sure about?” Osmeña said.

Councilor Alvin Arcilla also suggested calling for an executive session with proponents of the LRT subway system to shed light on the matter.

But Garcia said there is still no proponent yet and that his purpose was just to express support for the subway system, which he believes will be ideal since the city has narrow roads.

This prompted Osmeña to read an article SunStar Cebu published last April 15 about a consortium of local and foreign companies that is “working closely” with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for the construction of an elevated LRT with a subway section in the central business district.

Earlier, Chris Kou, the consortium’s representative and project developer, said that a proponent led by Tjen Hian Ka, the consortium’s senior consultant, started the process with the DOTr way back in the last quarter of 2017.

The consortium expects to complete the process with the DOTr this year. After completing permits and other necessary documentation, construction may start in early 2019, Kou added.

“It’s published in the news already. Why don’t we invite them to present to us? It’s not a secret anyway. Maybe they can shed light on this,” Osmeña said.

Garcia, though, pointed out that his resolution was not related to the proposed LRT subway-elevated system. “This has no reference to that proponent. They went directly to DOTr,” he added.