City to lot owners: Attend hearing or no payment

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Council is inviting all affected stakeholders to attend the public hearing that will tackle the proposed ordinance finalizing the list of persons and properties affected by the lot acquisition of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

In the proposed measure, the BRT Project Implementation Unit has identified close to 100 properties and establishment owners affected in the implementation of the project.

The public hearing was supposedly slated last June 13, but the City Council rescheduled it to July 18.

“There’s a need to finalize the list so that we would know as to who are eligible to get resettlement and compensation from the national government,” said City Councilor Joel Garganera, author of the ordinance.

The implementation of the P10.6 billion BRT project entails lot acquisition at the location of the stations, terminals, and depots.

The names of the close to 100 business and homeowners were attached to the proposed ordinance.

The Department of Transportation has initially allocated P1.2 billion for the purpose, but it has reportedly increased it to P5 billion.

Last month, the initial tranche of the budget amounting to P900 million intended for the lot acquisition has been downloaded to the city government.

Under the proposed measure, people who were not included on the partial list conducted from May to December 2016 can still request from the Office of the Mayor for their inclusion on the list, provided that they can give reasonable grounds why they failed to participate in the last survey.

At least 25 locations are eyed for the BRT stations.

The lot acquisition includes areas in Natalio Bacalso Avenue, Osmeña Boulevard, Escario Street, Archbishop Reyes Avenue, Governor Mariano Cuenco Avenue, Barangay Bulacao, Barangay Talamban, and South Road Properties.

The three terminals for the project will be located near the Cebu South Coastal Road in Barangay Bulacao, along Governor Mariano Cuenco Avenue in Talamban area, and near Archbishop Reyes Avenue at the Cebu Business Park.

Garganera said only those people who are listed in the ordinance will receive resettlement and compensation from the government.

Also, the proposed measure also prohibits the development or any construction within the right of way (ROW) of the project, as included in the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 10752 (An Act Facilitating the Acquisition of Right of Way Site or Location for National Government Infrastructure Projects). —/GAN (FREEMAN)