Ubay councilors debate on bus terminal location

UBAY, BOHOL, Philippines — The correct site on where to construct a bus terminal in Ubay town of Bohol is now being intensely debated at the Municipal Council, which is split on two choices or preferences.

Last July 18, the Council approved a resolution confirming a 3-hectare lot at Barangay Camambugan “as the final site for Ubay Integrated Transport terminal project.”

However, when the Alturas Group of Companies recently donated its 1.5-hectare lot at Barangay Son-oc and offered it as the town’s site for a bus terminal, some councilors had favored and this triggered the split of opinions and the debate over which location is better for the government and the public.

Some members of the Council and Mayor Constantino Reyes met with Alturas Group general manager Mar Uy, who committed his company of the donated lot. Both locations are outside the town proper, in compliance with the municipal government’s plan to decongest the town center and relocate government centers or offices in the off-urban area of Ubay.

While the debate continues, the Council, presided over by Vice Mayor Nelson Uy, had agreed that the delay in the project implementation was due to the “unavailability” of the required lot space for a bus terminal, but that they have to act fast on their decision otherwise the P50-million fund that the DPWH had alloted for it will be returned to the national coffers if unused after the deadline.

Vice Mayor Uy attested that the resolution, sponsored by Councilor Maximo Boyles was seconded by Councilors Joan Balduman, Efren Tanjay, Eutiquio del Valle, and Clarita Alesna, as certified by Council Secretary Alpios Delima.

Boyles told The Freeman that the plan for bus terminal to be erected in Camambugan has been agreed upon by both the Council and the mayor’s office during their previous executive-legislative agenda (ELA) caucus.

Balduman, after her privilege speech on July 25, said: “I will stand with the same reasons that building a terminal in the LGU lot in Camambugan is still the best option.”

She presented comparison why she preferred the Camambugan location over the donated lot in Son-oc. She said Camambugan 3-ha. site can accommodate more big buses than the 1.5-ha. donated site by Alturas.

“If built in Camambugan, the town will spend nothing because it’s an LGU asset,” but for the donated lot, the town shall “owe Alturas gratitude and we won’t have any face if we will not pay back the favor in the future,” said Balduman.

Councilor Victor Bonghanoy and his group however favored the Alturas-donated lot, citing security reasons. The Camambugan site is proximate to the detention center of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. Besides, the place has a history of many traffic accidents, and very close to the defunct airport. “This is very risky for people going to and from the terminal in Camambugan,” he argued.

This debate prompted the municipal government to conduct a public hearing at the municipal market to get the views of the people on which site they would prefer for a bus terminal: the one in Camambugan or the donated lot in Son-oc?