CEBU CITY (Jan. 11, 2023) – Let us keep the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project as planned and funded, declared Mayor Mike Rama.
He disagreed with some city councilors who said the CBRT should be stopped being an “abject failure” in some countries that have applied the system.
“Scrapping it, for me, is the most stupid thing to do. I wish that they should not be coming out with stupid comments,” Rama said during his Ingna’ng Mayor teleradyo program over Sugboanon Channel this morning.
“If you cannot put up, shut up!” he exclaimed.
Rama said Councilors “should be careful in issuing statements against the CBRT,” especially since the project is managed by the national government and funded by the World Bank (WB) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
He said stopping or scrapping the CBRT is also an insult to the efforts of the city’s previous administrations who helped plan and realize the project since it was conceptualized in 1996.
“Scrapping, wow! They should be careful with that. Mura ra nag gi-scrap nila si (former mayor) Tomas Osmena, ako, ug si Mayor Edgardo Labella. I-scrap nalang mi tanan? Is there another group coming in that we will have to be scrapped?” the mayor quipped.
“It was not easy to have it approved. It was not easy, even for Tommy, to have it expanded,” he added.
No alternatives?
He got displeased the councilors floated the idea to stop the BRT project without providing a clear alternative.
“Unsa may option? If you scrap, you have to be extra careful with that word. Liman ka, imung i-scrap dayun gikan sa national government, kinsa pama’y mopautang nato?” he asked.
“Gi-aprobahan, gipirmahan dayun gipun-an pa ang budget, dayun ipa-scrap? That’s why I’m saying it’s stupid,” he added.
Scrapping it, for me, is the most stupid thing to do. I wish that they should not be coming out with stupid comments.
Mayor Mike Rama
He reminded the councilors who now criticized the CBRT project that they were very supportive of it.
“They should be honest enough. Because if they are not honest enough, they are mentally dishonest,” he said.
He urged the City Council to invite representatives of the Department of Transportation, the agency overseeing the project’s implementation, and of the World Bank and AFD to help shed light about their concerns.
During the Jan. 10 session, Councilor Nestor Archival sought to invite the same representatives and of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) to an executive session to appraise the Council if NEDA had approved the revised route.
“How much from the loan has been downloaded to the Philippine government, and how much is the cost of interest the government is now paying?” he also asked.
The City Council agreed to schedule the executive session on Feb. 7.
Governing body for CBRT
The mayor said he wants to organize a governing body to manage the CBRT once it is completed and in operation to “put things in perspective.”
He has even tasked City administrator Collin Rosell to draft the guidelines for the proposed governing body.
Rama also believes that what proponents of the CBRT need is to modify its design and attune it to the current setting.
“What is to be done is modification, attunement, and look at it on how we can make it effective and efficient,” he said.
In a privilege speech on Wednesday, Jan. 10, Councilor James Anthony Cuenco requested his colleagues to ponder on the CBRT’s ongoing construction and adopt “more viable solutions” to the city’s traffic situation.
Cuenco, who chairs the Council’s committee on transportation and communication, outlined the “red flags” he sees about the ongoing CBRT project.
He said that the CBRT has become the subject of intense public scrutiny due to the massive gridlocks it caused during its construction period.
Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera agreed with Cuenco’s points and even pushed her colleagues to support putting a stop to the CBRT.
She claimed that the BRT system in Curitiba, Brazil, which former mayor Osmeña drew inspiration from for the CBRT, succeeded for a specific period but later failed to address transportation concerns. | PPRMN / jkv
Cebu City • News & Information 
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