Updates from the DOTr

projects? Most big-ticket projects completed under this administration were planned and started during Aquino’s time.

Well, there are signs that the pace may be picking up in the major projects related to road infrastructure and public transport. Last Saturday, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade announced that the bus augmentation system for the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit project will start on March 15, although he clarified that it’s not yet the long-delayed BRT system.

That’s still a bit of good news for traffic-weary Cebuanos. After President Rodrigo Duterte brought the matter up about the need for Metro Cebu to adopt the elevated rail and road systems because it is an old city, there is now real public expectation that these systems will be implemented soon.

Incidentally, the president spoke about this matter that is very important to the Cebuanos during an occasion that is sacred to the Cebuanos, the Sinulog festival. It’s like a sacred promise to the people who helped him win in 2016: I’ll help you fix your traffic problem.

Tugade last Saturday also mentioned the cable cars project which will connect the international airport to Cebu City. He said the DOTr will also fast-track the monorail system, “which is the backbone of the Integrated and Inter-modal Transport System (IITS) in Cebu.”

With a sigh of weariness, we in Cebu are now waiting for those now fully in charge at the local and national level to show us some results.