BRT project hits snag anew

CEBU, Philippines — The implementation of the P16-billion Cebu Bus Rapid Transit project in Cebu City will be delayed further after the services of 13 of the 30 employees of the Project Implementation Unit were not renewed this month.

BRT PIU head Rafael Christopher Yap said the non-renewal of the 13 employees, whose functions are essential in the land acquisition aspect, will affect the implementation of the project.

“To be able to implement project, you need people. If we have lesser people we have lesser capability to accomplish. Make no mistake we can still do the project. It’s just that with the volume of work necessary to do land acquisition, to handle the engineering design, working with the consultants, to do consultations medyo ma-overload ang mga remaining member sa project implementation unit,” he told reporters.

Yap said the departure of some of the employees under his office was upon the order of Department of Transportation (DOTr), which is handling the implementation of BRT. The employees were only up to March this year.

"The Road Sector of the Department of Transportation has recently reorganized to redefine its goals and ensure an efficient and effective delivery of its services to the public," reads a portion of the March 21-memorandum of DOTr Undersecretary Thomas Orbos. Yap said his office received the order last March 23.

He said DOTr informed the BRT-PIU that the project implementation unit will be reorganized. However, he was not informed as to the reason behind the reorganization of the office and its purpose.

When asked if the reorganization would eventually lead to the cancellation of the project, Yap said he would not want to speculate about it.

“All I can say, up to this date we’re still on the ‘Build, Build, Build website. So this means that the project (BRT) is one of the flagship infrastructure developments that the Duterte administration seeks to implement,” he said.

While he is aware that several groups and individuals expressed objection to the project, Yap said the issues should relate to the implementation of the project and not on its viability. The BRT, he said, has undergone consultations and various studies before it was approved by various offices.

He said that the project will not go back to square one or will not be stopped or cancelled because he has not received instructions to this effect.

Once in place, BRT will traverse the city’s major thoroughfares such as N. Bacalso Avenue, South Road Properties, Osmeña Boulevard, N. Escario Street and Governor Cuenco Avenue. The P16.3 billion BRT project is scheduled to be operational in 2021.

As for the timeline of the implementation, Yap said the office expects delay of the because of the impending reorganization that affected 13 employees.

Yap admitted that the office will expect some difficulty in catching up with the timeline in the project implementation, especially in the land acquisition matter. 

This year, he said his office is expected to complete the acquisition of the properties that are affected along the route of the project. Phase 1 of BRT is expected to commence next year. However, he is now uncertain if they can still follow the timeline because of the impending reorganization.

In a separate development, Yap requested Mayor Tomas Osmeña to revoke his detail order as head of BRT PIU and to report back to the Office of the City Legal to process the necessary clearances to further his studies.

Yap said he was accepted as a candidate for the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship by Japanese Grant Aid 2018 to 2019. — FPL (FREEMAN)