Mega Cebu leaders to solons: Back anti-flooding projects

CEBU, Philippines - Proponents of the Mega Cebu movement yesterday appealed to all Cebu congressmen to support the fast-tracking of drainage and storm water management projects.

This, as Representative Rodrigo Abellanosa (Cebu City south district) said a road underpass would be built in 2016 in Cebu City after getting approval by the Regional Development Council.

The 700-million underpass would be constructed at the busy intersections of F. Llamas Street along Natalio Bacalso Avenue to address flooding and traffic congestion in Cebu City.

Abellanosa said the project, called Stormwater Management and Rapid Traffic, was already approved by the Cebu City Development Council and would be funded by the national government through the 2016 annual budget.

During the second quarterly meeting of the Metro Cebu Development Coordinating Board yesterday, Cebu congressmen and those behind the Mega Cebu movement discussed national policies and administrative regulations on the acquisition of right-of-way for national government infrastructure projects.

In particular, guidelines of the right-of-way acquisition, like payment for the cost of land acquisition and improvements and subjective negotiation process were pointed out.

While there are many modes of acquisition of private lands like negotiated sale or purchase, donation, quit claim, exchange or barter, Cebu City north district Representative Raul Del Mar suggested that they immediately proceed to the use of expropriation.

“This is where we can minimize corruption because it will be supervised before the court between the representatives of the government agency and the landowner who negotiates privately the price. It will minimize corruption,” del Mar said.

He said that a definite formula in determining the market price should be considered because it would “speed up things a lot.”

“When we expropriate there is necessity. It’s just the question of determining the amount,” del Mar said.

Roberto “Bobby” Aboitiz, president of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. that hosted the meeting, requested that things would be addressed fast instead of the government making them go “back and forth.”

“Tell us what you need and let’s get this done because this is a serious problem,” Aboitiz said.

Congressmen Abellanosa, del Mar, Joseph “Ace” Durano (fifth district) and Luigi Quisumbing (sixth district) and Gerard “Samsam” Gullas (first district), who were present during the meeting, assured their full support of the plan.

For Abellanosa the underpass would have six lanes. He expressed confidence that flooding in the city would be solved by the project, which is akin to the nine-kilometer SMART underpass in Malaysia. He said that this underpass is about 700 meters.

“There’s a cistern that would be able to absorb or store up to the equivalent of 10 times the Olympic size swimming pool,” he said, adding that the cisterns could absorb continuous five hours of heavy rain.

He said problems on the road right of way in the acquisition of lots would be addressed soon. The group would convene again on September 12 this year.— Jean Marvette A. Demecillo and Michael Vencynth H. Braga/RHM (FREEMAN)