CEBU, Philippines - Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino will lobby for the cancellation of the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) project in Cebu.

“If the BRT project is just a waste of effort, time and money and it will be a total disaster for Cebu, we have to stop it," Dino said following the presentation of transport expert Rene Santiago yesterday.

"I will lobby before the president and all other government agencies to cancel the BRT project. This project will only prove disastrous for Cebu. Why let Cebuanos be part of that suffering? What we need is an LRT. Manila has already 8 LRTs unya ang Cebu kay zero," Dino said.

In his presentation, Santiago said the BRT cannot solve the rising demand for “ridership” in Cebu, as it will only “replace” existing jeepneys.

It would even reportedly cause more traffic as buses would be plying narrow roads. He pointed out that the city’s BRT project is already four years delayed of its scheduled implementation.

He cited places whose BRT project failed like Hanoi in Vietnam where it took 10 years for the project to implement. Hanoi ended up with a $100M loan from the World Bank.

It reportedly failed because of lack of planning, bad design, and lack of international experts on the subject matter.

He also cited the E-trike project of the government in 2010 worth $300M, which was cancelled in November 2016 because it does not fit in Philippines.

"So if we can cancel e-trike, which was already an approved project for Philippines, why can't we cancel BRT when it cannot give solution to rising demand of ridership?" Santiago said.

He emphasized, though, that he is not against the BRT per se, as it is more efficient and less polluting than jeepneys. Buses are also more comfortable and will put order in the chaotic behavior of vehicles on the road.

Dino said the BRT is not the best mass transport system to decongest the traffic.

What Cebu needs, he said, is a light rail transit (LRT).

In an earlier interview, Mayor Tomas Osmeña, the project’s proponent, said he has anticipated Dino’s opposition and he would stop Dino from blocking the project.

For his part, Dino said, "I have nothing personal against Tommy Osmeña. Ang akoa lang ba, what is the best for Cebu. If BRT is a disaster, why include the Cebuanos and let them suffer?" he said.

Second Phase

At City Hall, City Administrator Nigel Paul Villarete said the city will ask the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to conduct a feasibility study for the second phase of the BRT project now that the first phase is underway.

He said the city will submit a formal proposal to DOTr by month’s end.

“We are on the process of completing documentation. We are submitting a BRT Phase 2 to DOTr for possible funding of the feasibility study,” he told The FREEMAN.

Villarete said the proposed second phase will run from Talisay City to Mactan Cebu International Airport via the South Coastal Road to improve the mobility of commuters.

For this to happen, however, neighboring cities must support the project and express the same to DOTr.

If there are neighboring cities that will oppose, the city will limit the route from the city’s boundaries at the South Road Properties and at the North Reclamation Area.

“This is part and parcel of the future BRT network that has been envisioned under the feasibility study in 2010,” he said.

He said the P16.9 billion first phase of BRT is already in the advanced state of project development.

Buses of the first phase will pass through the 23-kilometer route of the BRT project from Barangay Bulacao in the southwestern end of the city to Barangay Talamban in the north.

Villarete recalled that he has submitted similar proposal called the BRT airport express during his stint as MCIA general manager in 2014. The proposal was submitted to the Department of Transportation and Communication, now DOTr.

He said the previous proposal was not exactly for BRT as a public transport service for Cebu City but as an airport service, and it was for a conceptual study or pre-feasibility study.

“With the completion of the two pre-feasibility studies under the Metro Cebu Public Transport Study (MCPTS), the endorsements of the Talisay, the Province and the RDC (Regional Development Council), we are now ready to submit for a full-blown feasibility study for BRT-Phase 2 and for subsequent implementation,” he said.

Villarete said he has secured resolutions endorsing the BRT phase 2 from Talisay City’s Development Council, Provincial Development Council, and RDC.

As of now, he said there are no lacking documents for the submission of the proposal but it should be thoroughly compiled with a certain of "attractiveness.”

He will ask Mayor Tomas Osmeña to approve the proposal before finally submitting it to DOTr. Initially, he said he was told by the mayor to prepare everything and they will just discuss it.

“For now, the key is we will implement the first phase of the BRT,” Villarete said. — /JMO (FREEMAN)