By Kurt Romariz
Reprinted from CDN Digital
CEBU CITY (March 6, 2024) — The fate of the long controversial Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project faces yet another crossroads after local politicians argue over the possible repercussions of its continued construction.
The transportation project aims to create a bus express lane within Cebu City, with its first phase in continuous operations for months from the Capitol building on Osmeña Boulevard to the South Bus Terminal along Natalio Bacalso Avenue.
As the construction surpassed halfway through its operation, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia ordered the halt of the CBRT project’s civil works through a memorandum dated Feb. 27 for the sake of heritage preservation of the Capitol building.
The following day, Mayor Michael Rama firmly retorted that the Cebu governor has no jurisdiction over the operations and projects implemented within the city.
On the same side, former mayor Tomas Osmeña even threatened to sue the governor if she would further claim authority over the property where the project stands.
With the ongoing confusion over the project’s future, CDN asked the netizens what they prefer. Should the CBRT project halt operations per the governor’s order or continue following its original plan?
Some netizens believe there is a dire need to finish the project construction for its foreseen benefits to the city.
“Why not? Garbo kaha [na] sa Cebu … sunod ana mas bongga pa ang Cebu compared to BGC in Taguig or uban highly developed cities [It’s Cebu’s pride … next up, Cebu will be more grande compared to BGC in Taguig or other highly developed cities]. My two cents,” one commenter argued.
While some netizens were on the good side of the project, a few users believed that the CBRT project only brought nothing but detrimental consequences, especially on the traffic in the city’s most dense streets.
“Ihunong na oy. Gadala lang nag traffic [Just halt it. The project only brought heavy traffic],” another user complained
Nonetheless, most comments conveyed that the project should just be continued to eliminate the adverse effects they believed immediately were brought about by the construction, including “heavy traffic” and the cost of its operations: “Sayang nasugdan na. Nakagasto na [Too bad it’s already started. Money has been spent].”
Even so, the future of CBRT lies in the hands of the key political players involved in the implementation and the opposition to the transportation project.
The netizens can only do faintly more than firmly voice out their insights and hope that the Cebu City government is willing to heed their calls. | CDN Digital
Cebu City • News & Information 