DOTC has not endorsed MRT

CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Tomas Osmeña is asking for clarification why the National Economic and Development Authority secretariat is already undertaking the review and evaluation of the proposed Metro Cebu Mass Rail Transit system.

This after the mayor learned from Department of Transportation and Communication Secretary Leandro Mendoza in a meeting that Mendoza’s office did not endorse the MRT.

Osmeña said he has sent a letter to NEDA-7 director Marlene Rodriguez yesterday seeking an explanation for undertaking the review and evaluation of the project.

Rodriguez earlier sent a letter to Osmeña soliciting comments and recommendations on the project citing the proposal was submitted by DOTC to her office for review and evaluation.

But the mayor said Mendoza told him that DOTC is not the proponent of the controversial MRT project and DOTC has not even accepted the unsolicited proposal of AMA Group Holdings Inc yet.

Osmeña said that Mendoza explained to him that DOTC only submitted an advanced copy of the project profile to the NEDA secretariat for information.

For this reason, the mayor described the proposed MRT in Metro Cebu as a form of deception since it is only a private sector’s proposal.

He said that an endorsement for project of this nature has to come from the DOTC secretary and not from someone below his rank because the project will cost $600 million or almost P30 billion. Osmeña wanted to know the legal basis of NEDA for such a review, in relation to the provisions of Republic Act 7718 or The Philippine Build-Operate-Transfer Law.

“They’re using the name of DOTC, sakpan gyud! It’s a gross misrepresentation including the local NEDA office,” Osmeña said.

The mayor clarified that they never endorsed the project contrary to the claim of the project’s proponent that the city government already supported it.

Osmeña admitted that city planning officer Nigel Paul Villarete wrote a letter to NEDA in 2007 that they are in favor of the mass transport system, but the mayor explained that there was no actual endorsement made and Villarete was just being polite in sending the letter.

Villarete also said there was a subsequent letter sent to NEDA that the city is in favor of the Bus Rapid Transit system.

This is aside from the fact that the city council passed a resolution way back in December last year supporting the proposed BRT project.

Osmeña expressed his apprehensions that the proponent of the Metro Cebu Mass Rail Transit project will find a way that their proposal pushes through. — Elly Bolonos/BRP   (FREEMAN NEWS)