The Department of Finance (DOF) has given the Department of Transportation (DOTr) until the end of the month to decide on the fate of Cebu’s bus rapid transit (BRT) system.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the DOTr was told to settle technical issues that could delay the roll out of the proposed BRT system in Cebu. The DOTr has earlier recommended the cancellation of the project.
“I said you have until the end of June to settle it because I don’t want this argument to go on forever. I told [the DOTr] to settle it by the end of June. Settle it, make up your mind, I don’t want these long arguments,” Dominguez said.
The DOF chief said narrow roads and right-of-way issues are some of the technical issues that are being cited by the DOTr for withdrawing the BRT proposal. He added that financial issues are not expected to hamper the BRT’s implementation since the previous administration has already evaluated the project.
“But I understand that one of the issues that has to be addressed is the fact that there are no wide roads in Cebu. The suggestion is to widen the roads [but] that’s easier said than done. I don’t know how much it will cost to acquire the right-of-way, to move the buildings further apart. That’s the technical issue,” Dominguez said.
For as long as the project is financially and technically feasible, he said the DOF will support its implementation. Dominguez added that the same issues may bog down the implementation of the BRT system in Metro Manila.
“It hasn’t come up but I guess the same issues will hound the proposed BRT in Metro Manila. In my own opinion, the best time to implement the BRT is when you are building the road, which we are going to do in Clark,” he said.
Earlier, DOTr officials said the narrow roads and right-of-way issues forced the department to recommend the cancellation of the BRT project in Metro Manila and Cebu City. The DOTr also told lawmakers that it is withdrawing its request for funds for the three BRT lines.
The estimated P11-billion Cebu BRT project proposed by the DOTr will ply the 23-kilometer Bulacao-Ayala-Talamban route. The three proposed BRT systems—two in Metro Manila and one in Cebu City—are part of the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program and will cost a total of P53 billion.
Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade earlier said the DOTr has not ruled out BRTs entirely, adding that the system is more effective in areas that are not yet congested.
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