‘Kalag-Kalag’ respite: musings for a renewed Cebu

Between the afternoon of October 31 and November 2 is usually my favorite time to be in the city. Unlike during Holy Week, many commercial establishments remain open with regular hours, yet without the traffic congestion we experience almost daily. Many people have returned to their respective hometowns to pay respects to their departed loved ones. As a result, except in areas near cemeteries, public terminals, and along the national highway, there are considerably fewer vehicles on city roads.

These days remind me of the late ’80s and ’90s, when it was relatively easy to travel around Cebu. My father owned an Isuzu Gemini sedan back then, and although he never received a traffic ticket in his life, he drove fast. The drive from the city to our hometown in Catmon typically took just an hour or even less for a seasoned driver. Today, I’d be lucky to make the same trip in under two hours.

Depending on the road I'm on, whenever I drive through heavy traffic, I often find myself wishing that Cebu --and the entire country-- were blessed with local and national leaders who have a genuine vision for urban planning, along with the competence and discipline to bring that vision to life promptly. On the national road leading to provincial towns, I long for a long-overdue inland or coastal expressway, and perhaps even a railway system. Within the city, I wish for an efficient and accessible mass transportation system that can serve everyone.

In Cebu City, the urban progress we currently see --like the CCLEX, the SRP developments, and the long-delayed Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT)-- is propelled by legacy projects envisioned and initiated decades ago rather than by recent initiatives. If you think about it, we are actually falling behind, coasting forward only on the momentum invested in previous leaderships. Without fresh, ambitious initiatives to sustain its forward trajectory, Metro Cebu’s progress risks stalling, relying only on incremental projects and piecemeal solutions.

I believe the 2025 elections represent a crucial turning point for Cebuanos. We should be electing visionaries, builders, and technocrats --or at least those who respect science and urban planning-- not leaders whose vision extends only as far as their noses, adept at sniffing out corrupt ventures in public infrastructure and government projects for personal gain.

With that, let me make a tangential point. I am a lawyer myself, and I know many good lawyers who are accomplished in public service and governance. However, I wish people would stop electing lawyers simply because they assume legal expertise equates to competence in governance. Not all lawyers make effective leaders. Just look at certain periods in our history, both long ago and more recently, when the country was led by lawyers --it was a disaster! I hope to see more engineers, architects, health professionals, designers, agriculturists, and community organizers at the helm of governance.

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I recently saw an update on social media about the CBRT Phase 1 project, along with photos. The foglia leaf-inspired design of the bus stations and the pedestrian-friendly features are a source of anticipation for commuters.

However, there's this misconception that the CBRT is designed to resolve the city's traffic woes once it becomes operational. Metro Cebu's traffic situation has already reached a point of no return. In our car-centric society, the more roads you build or expand, the more private cars will fill them.

What the CBRT is expected to address, instead, is mobility, especially for the ordinary working class. If it is comfortable and convenient enough, there’s hope that the middle class and affluent will also use it. The CBRT will allow people to move freely despite the congestion caused by private vehicles on the road, with BRT lanes remaining clear for uninterrupted mobility and ensuring that buses run on schedule.

The CBRT, a practical and relatively affordable alternative to the costly and heavily-subsidized LRT (up to 51% of the cost per passenger), will prioritize those who rely on public transit to navigate the city. It sends a clear message to car-centric commuters who claim a disproportionate share of road space, often occupying much more space relative to their passenger count. It also serves as a critique of public officials in SUVs using their ‘wang-wang’ escorts to bypass traffic. The CBRT prioritizes the working class, affirming that their time is just as valuable as anyone else’s.