Flyover Frenzy
‘DON’T TOUCH ASILO’
Annabelle Rama objects to flyover near Asilo shrine
One of the reasons Annabelle Rama said she was interested to run for Congress in Cebu City’s north district was to protect the Asilo dela Milagrosa church and orphanage from being affected by plans for a new flyover on Gorordo Avenue.
“Feeling ko naay nag hunghong nako kay ang Asilo gusto ipa-demolish ni del Mar.. Diha gyud ko nagdaku.. I was 3 to 4 years old when I was at Asilo and grew up with the nuns,” she said on Friday during a quick visit to Cebu City to transfer her voters registration.
If Annabelle, a Manila-based entertainment talent manager, runs for congress in 2013, her opponent would be either Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar or the incumbent’s father Raul.
Both del Mars are sponsors of the series of flyovers being put up by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and have been aggressive in pushing for their implementation, which was scheduled last year yet.
Plans to build two additional flyovers in Gorordo Avenue and M.J. Cuenco Avenue met strong opposition from traffic managers, and environment and heritage advocates, including nuns of the Asilo dela Milagrosa, who led weekly dawn prayers and processions or “aurora” to protest the rise of the massive structures.
A road setback would require demolishing part of a grotto, driveway, and guardhouse, as well as push the Asilo’s fence up to the front door of the church on Gorordo Avenue.
The two flyovers, worth P600 million, were put on hold by Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson. A meeting in Malacañang between President Aquino and Rep. Del Mar and the mayor, left the matter hanging.
A go-signal was given to allow road widening in the sites pending a traffic study by the DPWH to determine whether the flyovers were really needed.
A protest banner “No to flyovers” still hangs outside the walls of the Asilo dela Milagrosa.
The controversy snowballed into wider calls by various sectors for long-term traffic and urban planning that would direct Cebu City’s growth as a “sustainable city” instead of adding costly two-lane flyovers in narrow thoroughfares as “band-aid” solutions to traffic congestion.
During her grade school years, Annabelle stayed with her aunt in the Asilo Milagrosa in Gorordo Avenue.
Elder brother George, barangay captain of Basak Nicolas, said Annabelle was “close” to the Asilo nuns and still visits them and extends help.
In a separate interview at the City Hall office of Mayor Rama, Annabel said she spoke on the phone with her cousin on Wednesday.
When the mayor invited her to run for north district congresswoman, Annabelle said she said quickly said yes. The showbiz manager said she wanted to make sure that the Asilo dela Milagrosa church and its orphanage would not be damaged by a flyover.
Anabelle said she her family had mixed sentiments on her election bid.
Daughter Ruffa objected, saying “Anong gagawin mo sa congresss? Dapat mag aral ka muna ng law.” (What will you do in Congress. You should first study law.) The mother replied that if you have a good brain (“magaling ang utak mo”), you can study for the role of congressman.
“So far, half of my family is against it. The other half is excited,” said Annabelle, who said she wants to consult other family members and still has time to decide until October, the deadline for certificates of candidacy.
Elder brother George, who’s discouraging her from a political career because of the cost in time and money, which he estimates at P10 million to P15 million for a campaign, said he doesn’t think Annabelle will proceed with her political plans.
“Pustaanay ta, di na siya modagan (I’m ready to bet, she won’t run for congress),” said George.
Annabelle is the fifth child among seven siblings, according to her brother George who is the third child.
Their parents are Feliciana Rosal and Laurente Rama.
Annabelle lived in Basak, San Nicolas in Cebu City before she went to Manila. She graduated from Basak San Nicolas Elementary School and finished high school in the University of San-Carlos Girls High Campus.
Annabelle took a nursing course in Southwestern University for one year but cut short her college education when she was accepted as a flight stewardess in Philippine Airlines.
Annabelle married Jorge Eduardo Picket Gutierrez, a matinee idol in the 1960s. As a teenager she had a big crush on Eddie who was very good looking, George recalled.
Annabelle also had a brief stint as an actress in the 1970s.
The couple have six children, most of them with careers in the entertainment industry.
The beauty queen-actress host, Sharmaine Ruffa Gutierrez is the eldest. Ruffa’s five brothers are Rocky, Elvis and his twin brothers Richard and Raymond. Ritchie Paul is the youngest.
Annabelle’s feisty image in TV roles is the opposite of her real personality, according to George.
“Sa tinuod lang buotan kaayo og matinabangon na siya (She’s really goodnatured and compassionate,” he said.
“Motabang gyud na siya sa mga nanginahanglan (She gives help whenever it’s needed).”
He said Annabelle was also a close friend of businesswoman- philanthropist Mariquita Salimbangon Yeung. /Edison delos Angeles and Tweeny M. Malinao, Correspondents
DENR gives permits for 9 Metro Cebu flyovers 10/29/2011
10/29/2011
They include the two proposed flyovers in Gorordo Avenue and M.J. Cuenco Avenue, which were put on hold last week by the Department of Public Works and Highways amid objections from private stakeholders in Cebu about the lack of consultation and sound planning behind the projects.
The list was confirmed yesterday by William Cunado, Environmental Impact Assessment division chief for DENR-Environment Management Bureau (EMB).
The ECCs also cover flyover proposals for A. Soriano Jr. to J. Luna, and N. Bacalos to V. Rama Avenue in Cebu City.
Cunado said the ECC would only be canceled if no “ground developments” are carried out five years after it was issued. He said requirements were met before the the documents were issued.
Cunado said one flyover project—labled “Sto. Nino, Cebu City”— was not issued an ECC because of discrepancies in the application.
He said the DPWH lacked some preevaluation requirements like the street location where the flyover would be built.
“For Sto. Nino, no specific area was given,” Cunado said.
Fernando Quililan, DENR-EMB-7 regional director, said his office would be open to hearing any request for a review of the issued ECCs if one is made.
“We will look into the apprehension of the communities. We can’t ignore the misgivings of the people,” he said.
But he said DENR can’t easily cancel an ECC unless it would be “life threatening or in an isolated or very complicated case”
“We will stand by what we issue,” Quililan said. /By Candeze R. Mongaya, Reporter
DPWH sticks to original Gorordo flyover design
10/28/2011
Engineer Nonato Paylado, assistant DPWH-7 chief for planning and design division, said diverting from the original plan would compromise the quality of the project.
This means that construction of the flyover will damage a portion of the Asilo dela Milagrosa compound, Paylado admitted.
“She shouldn’t have promised that the flyover won’t affect the church,” Paylado told Cebu Daily News,
referring to Cebu City Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar of the north district. The .240 kilometer flyover planned for the juncture of Gorordo and Archbishop Reyes Avenue is being opposed by Asilo nuns and other members of the Movement for a Liveable Cebu.
Their opposition is supported by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, who said the “heritage value” of the over 70-year-old church was important as he echoed their call for road-widening and a traffic master plan instead of of another flyover.
A moroatorium on construction was ordered last week by the DPWH central office.
Paylado said DPWH Regional Director Engr. Pedro Herrera Jr. told staff they would rather comply with standards set by their office rather than heed del Mar’s request to spare the Asilo dela Milagrosa Church.
“It can’t be moved because the road is straight. If we move the flyover, the road would not be diverted and not aligned, straight” Paylado said.
Nevertheless, Paylado said the DPWH reigonal director is still studying del Mar’s request.
He said all DPWH flyover projects in Metro Cebu follow a set of standards for the lane width, length of curve gutter and service road.
Each lane of the service road would measure 3.35 meters while the flyover land is 3.66 meters wide, excluding the sidewalk and the railings.
Construction of the Gorordo flyover was supposed to start in November. It would require a 3.5 meter setback from the perimeter fence of the Asilo compound, destroying part of the grotto, parking lot, guard house, and a crisis center as well as push the boundary wall to up to the front entrance of the Miraculous Medal Church, blocking the use of the front door.
Meanwhile, businessman Bunny Pages said the DPWH central office was “misled” into believing that the new flyover projects in Cebu are supported by the public.
Pages, who attended the meeting with Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson in Manila last Wednesday ,said he was surprised when Singson showed them documents indicating the support of businessmen to the flyover projects.
“If you see the reports from the DPWH regional office to the central office, they were all distroted. \it said that hearings and consultations were conducted and that 76 percent of those who attended agreed to it (flyovers).
The same documents showed that four public consultations were held in August, September and October. The report showed that two of the consultations expressed support for the flyover project while two consultations ended with no clear decision made.
Flyover proponents also showed nine resolutions passed by the Regional Development Council (RDC) since 2005 endorsing support to the flyovers.
Singson showed a report referring to a technical meeting in the Casino Espanol last month with DPWH and local government units.
“The report said there was hardly any substantial opposition from Cebu. They did not send accurate information,” said pages.
Paylado, who was at the Casino Español meeting, said the report was based on “our verbal inputs” . He said flyover critics were “overwhelmed” after former congressman Raul del Mar argued for the need for flyovers in Cebu City.
“Based on our interpretation of the meeting, the statements in the meeting were in favor of the flyover,” he said.
Paylado said they didn’t hear any direct statements from businessmen like Pages, Roberto Aboitiz or Engr. Primitivo Cal supporting flyover projects.
Paylado said the series of flyovers proposed by Raul del Mar for Cebu City is already approved by the DPWH central office.
He said it is “understandable” that Secretary Singson did not know about it because DPWH has many infrastructure projects nationwide.
“We can’t expect the secretary to memorize all the projects. But Undersecretary Romeo Mono is aware of it,” Paylado said. /By Candeze R. Mongaya, Reporter
DPWH BOSS ‘SHOCKED’
Singson meets flyover critics; will visit Cebu in November
He met yesterday in his Manila office with a Cebu delegation of anti-flyover advocates led by businessman Joel Lee, convenor of the Movement for a Liveable Cebu.
The Cabinet secretary was “shocked” to learn about the extent of opposition to the projects and what could still be in store, said Lee.
For one, Singson didn’t know about plans for five more flyovers in Cebu City as part of a network envisioned by Raul del Mar, former north district congressman, and daughter Rep. Cutie del Mar.
Second, the names of prominent Cebu businessmen who were officially reported to Singson as supporting the flyovers turned out to be misleading.
Bunny Pages, who was with the group yesterday, had to clarify that he was opposing the flyovers, and not supporting them.
The Cabinet secretary showed the Cebu visitors, who included nuns of the Asilo dela Milagrosa, some of the official communications sent to him about the two Cebu City flyovers, all giving the impression that stakeholders were consulted several times and support the projects.
Singson told the group he only supports infrastructure projects that are “backed by comprehensive studies.”
A moratorium on construction of Cebu City flyovers was ordered last week by the DPWH central office amid the controversy.
An Oct. 28 “final consultation-dialogue” set by the Dept. of Public Works and Higwhays (DPWH) regional office in Cebu City has likewise been cancelled.
The freeze order, which noted safety and technical objections of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom), has stalled the start of construction of a two-lane flyover in Gorordo Avenue scheduled in November and another one already bidded out for M.J. Cuenco Avenue for a total cost of P600 million.
“He (Singson) said that he was surprised because they are not aware about the series of flyovers,” Lee told Cebu Daily News.
Lee said the group showed a list of the flyovers and Singson was “shocked” when he realized that five more would still be built in Cebu City by the DPWH.
“He said that he just knew about it when we showed it to him,” said Lee.
Former congressman Raul del Mar, in earlier occasions, talked of his vision of a network of seven flyover projects in the north district, including one near the Carmelite convent in barangay Mabolo, which was sidelined in 2008 due to opposition from the nuns.
Three flyovers already exist in the Banilad-Talamban corridor—one near Ma. Luisa Subidivsion, another near the Tesda Center and one in Archbishop Reyes Avenue near Ayala Center.
In the medium term development investment plan of DPWH Cebu City District Office for the north district for 2010-2016, two-lane flyovers with a length .400 km each would be built in the junction of Gorordo Avenue and Salinas Drive worth P200 million, another in Gorordo Avenue and Doña Modesta Gaisano Street worth P180 million and the Juan Luna Avenue and MJ Cuenco Avenue worth P230 million.
The same document shows a .300 km flyover worth P480 million for the junction of M.J. Cuenco Avenue and Gen. Maxilom Avenue to Juan Luna Avenue, and a .240 km flyover worth P220 million at the junction of Gorordo Avenue and Archbishop Reyes Avenue.
Lee attended the one-hour meeting at the DPWH central office with a Cebu delegation of professionals who are lobbying for a Transportation Master Plan for Cebu to guide remedial steps for traffic congestion and avoid further “urban decay.”
The group included architect Joseph Espina, dean of the College of Architecture and Fine Arts in the University of San Carlos, who was a MCLUTS land use planner; engineer Fortunato Sanchez Jr. of the Banilad-Talamban Traffic Task Force; architect Ann Espina, dean of the UP College of Architecture; Bunny Pages; architect Joy Martinez; and nuns from Perpetual Succour Hospital and Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion, whose facilities are affected by the proposed Gorordo flyover.
Lee said that they met with top DPWH officials to emphasize the movement’s request to halt the rise of two flyovers in Gorordo Avenue and M.J. Cuenco Avenue.
Asked if the Cabinet Secretary had met previously with the Del Mars, Lee said Singson did not mention it.
The meeting was also attended by DPWH Undersecretary Romeo Momo and Assistant Secretary Emil Sandian. Momo was the one who signed the DPWH memorandum suspending the two flyover projects in Cebu City until the concerns of opposition groups are resolved.
The DPWH letter dated Oct. 7 cited the opposition of stakeholders, including Citom traffic authorities, on the flyover project to be built near the Asilo dela Milagrosa Church at the intersection of Gorordo Avenue and Archbishop Street.
Lee explained the group’s objection to the flyovers as an expensive Band-Aid solution to traffic congestion, and the lack of proper urban planning or consultation with stakeholders behind the projects.
The movement is pressing for a master plan for Cebu transportation to update the MCLUTS, the only metrowide urban study made in the 1970s.
The meeting was “very calm, with no awkwardness,” said architect Joy Martinez. She said Singson was direct and welcoming.
“We were able to discuss all our concerns and everyone is happy about it,” she said.
Martinez said the Cabinet Secretary was clear that the availability of a P600-million budget for two flyovers was not a justification for the project.
“He said that it shouldn’t be used as a reason. He did not subscribe to the usual line of some of the DPWH officials,” she said.
After the meeting, Lee said in a text message: “The group was happy to have been given the opportunity to discuss the impact of the proposed flyovers and stressed the need for a master plan. Secretary Singson assured the group that DPWH is keen on ensuring that projects for implementation are backed up by comprehensive studies.”
The group flew to Manila yesterday morning and returned to Cebu last night.
Meanwhile, DPWH-7 spokesperson Marie Nellana said the staff cancelled the public forum for Friday after the central office did not confirm their invitation.
She said Oct. 28 was just a tentative date.
“We did not even choose a venue, or set another date,” she told Cebu Daily News.
She said the Gorordo flyover was already bidded out and that DPWH issued a notice to proceed for construction.
“The money is already there. It would be a long process if the project would be realigned. According to our lawyer, only a court order can stop the project because it is a national project,” she said.
She said DPWH-7 Regional Director Pedro Herrera Jr. also sent news clippings about the flyover controversy to the central office along with the minutes of the public hearings about the project. /By Candeze R. Mongaya, Reporter
Clergy group backs stand against flyovers
A GROUP of progressive Visayas clergy members yesterday supported the call for a moratorium on flyover construction in Cebu City.
The Visayas Clergy Discernment Group – Cebu, in a statement, said the issue is linked to a larger concern for “pro-people development through participatory and good governance.”
The statement was signed by head convenor Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Aliminaza of Iloilo.
The Archdiocese of Cebu has yet to issued its stand on the flyover debate.
Three batches of diocesan priests, who recently finished their annual retreat with Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma as retreat master, were asked by Palma to reflect on the flyover controversy.
They have yet to issue a public statement.
Rep. Cutie del Mar and her father Raul have vigorously endorsed the construction of two flyovers in Gorordo Avenue and M.J. Cuenco despite objections from environment lobbyists, Cebu City traffic managers and local urban planners.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) last week issued a suspension order of work on the two flyovers and set a public hearing on Oct. 28.
The VCDG-Cebu statement said “The Church is not against development but she sees to it that in every human effort towards progress the well-being of the people, especially the poor, shall be held paramount.”
The group said that government leaders and agencies should study the over-all picture of the social problems and determine its root causes in crafting a development plan.
After stakeholders, including nuns of the Asilo dela Milagrosa went to Archbishop Palma last September to complain, the prelate included the issue in a a series of discussions with priests in their annual retreat.
“We, the bishops and priests of the VCDG, have listened to the cry of our people, especially the poor.. Our people are caught in the mire of rural poverty due to landlessness and government neglect and this leads to urban migration that bloats the ever-increasing population of the poor in our cities. Consequently, the urban poor sectors with no regular employment and income, such as drivers, vendors, and informal settlers, have been blamed for urban problems like traffic congestion and the over-all urban decay,” the statement said.
Other members of the group are Msgr. Walter Cerbito, Msgr. Cayetano Gelbolingo, Msgr. Rommel Kintanar, Fr. Julius Heruela, Fr. Aniceto Buenafe, Jr., Fr. Paul Medina, Fr. Edgardo Deligero, Fr. Desiderio Magdoza, Fr. Scipio Deligero and Fr. Antonio Bayod, MSC./ Reporter Candeze Mongaya
‘Flyover funds for drainage, traffic master plan instead’
Instead of flyovers, Cebu City officials and businessmen opposed to the projects appealed anew to rechannel the funds to other projects instead.
Sylvan Jakosalem, chairman of the Cebu City Integrated Traffic Operations Management (Citom), said the government should use the funds to build either a drainage system or a Metro Cebu-wide computerized traffic network.
“The mayor and even the council may ask the national government or president to realign the funds. No harm in trying,” he said.
Jakosalem, who said road widening is the better option in order to accommodate more vehicles, said Cebu City shouldn’t be like Manila, which has many flyovers but was unable to resolve its flooding problems.
He said if there will be a flyover, the M.J. Cuenco-General Maxilom Avenue area is more acceptable compared to Gorordo Avenue especially if the M.J. Cuenco area is widened.
Businessman Bunny Pages said the suspension of the two flyover projects gives time for both the government and the private sector to raise P30 million for a traffic master plan.
“This is just a small amount for the future of Cebu,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Pages said businessman Bobby Aboitiz told him about the need to search for experts who can work on Cebu’s traffic master plan. A master plan could be done in one year, he said.
Public Works and Highways undersecretary Romeo Momo issued an Oct. 7 memo that ordered a suspension in the flyover projects unless the concerns raised by stakeholders are addressed.
A public hearing on the two projects is tentatively scheduled on Oct. 28.
Reps. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar and Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s north and south districts, respectively, signified their interest to attend the public hearing in support of the projects.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, who opposed the projects, said it’s better that experts and not public officials should attend the hearing.
Pages confirmed that he showed a copy of the DPWH memo to former congressman Raul del Mar and tried to convince him to reconsider his support last week.
Pages said the business sector is pushing to update the Metro Cebu Land Use and Transport Study (Mcluts) that was good only until 2000.
“I think the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) can fund the master plan because nobody is objecting to it,” Pages said.
Even some residents in Gorordo expressed reservations to the flyover project.
Fifty-year-old Mercedes Perpetua, who owns a restaurant across the Asilo dela Milagrosa church, said they have nowhere to go once their house is demolished to make way for the flyover.
Perpetua’s house is located in a government-owned lot in the area.
Rep. Del Mar earlier asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-7) to spare the Asilo church due to its cultural significance.
Perpetua said they’ve been staying in the spot across the church for 15 years selling food.
Another resident, a beauty parlor manager named Loisan Zamora, said officials should dialogue with the affected residents first before deciding on implementing the flyover project.
Though the government promised to provide financial compensation for their lot, Zamora said they would rather stay in the area. /By Doris C. Bongcac, Marian Z. Codilla and Candeze R. Mongaya
FLYOVER PROJECTS SUSPENDED
DPWH wants resolution of complaints; hearing on Oct. 28
In a memorandum signed by DPWH undersecretary for regional operations Romeo Momo, the regional DPWH-7 office was told to suspend the two flyover projects until the concerns of opposition groups were resolved.
Anti-flyover opponents like the Movement for Liveable Cebu (MLC) and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama welcomed the DPWH decision, a sentiment shared by flyover proponents.
Former congressman Raul del Mar and Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district said the suspension will give them a chance to clear issues on the projects.
The DPWH letter dated Oct. 7 cited the opposition of stakeholders on the flyover project to be built near the Asilo dela Milagrosa Church at the intersection of Gorordo Avenue and Archbishop Street.
Another flyover project is planned near the Carreta cemetery on M.J. Cuenco Avenue and General Maxilom intersection.
“In view thereof, you are advised to hold in abeyance the implementation of these projects until such time that this issue will be resolved,” Momo told DPWH-7 director Pedro Herrera Jr.
The stakeholders asked the government to conduct a Metro Cebu traffic master plan to identify both short- term and long-term solutions to the traffic problems in the city.
Traffic impact
Last July, Rama wrote a letter addressed to the DPWH detailing his objections to the flyover projects.
He said other solutions like road widening and flared intersections should be pursued instead.
Rama also lobbied to update a 1970s Metro Cebu transport study.
The two new flyovers were proposed by the elder Del Mar and were now being lobbied by his successor and daughter Rep. Cutie del Mar of Cebu City’s north district.
Copies of the letter were sent to Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom), Rama and Rep. Osmeña.
A copy of a resolution by Citom dated Sept. 8 reiterated its opposition to the flyover projects.
The Citom resolution said DPWH-7 officials admitted in a forum last Aug. 26 that they didn’t consider the traffic impact on the adjacent intersections.
“Citom’s concern was very specific in mentioning the proximity of each end of flyovers to the next busy intersection… We did not even mention master plan, environment (impact),” said Citom chairman Sylvan Jakosalem.
‘Listening ears’
Joel Lee, spokesman of the Movement for Liveable Cities, said they were relieved that their concerns were being considered by the government.
In a statement posted on the group’s Facebook page, Lee said they are willing to work with government to help find short-term solutions to Cebu City’s traffic congestion.
Lee also called for a “participatory visioning exercise” that will draft the traffic and transport master plan among all sectors of the community.
He said they envision a mass transit system of roads, ample pedestrian and bike lanes, wide green space and interconnected small parks in Cebu City.
Rama said the DPWH suspension of the flyover projects was proof that President Benigno Aquino III has “listening ears.”
Rama said he wants to meet with the Infrastructure Development Council (IDC) of the Regional Development Council to check on their study on the viability of two more flyover projects for Cebu City.
The elder Del Mar said he heard about the DPWH order from businessman Bunny Pages, who opposed the flyover projects.
Transparent
Raul said his daughter Cutie, who was in Manila on official business yesterday, also requested the DPWH to delay the flyover construction until after the Asilo dela Milagrosa fiesta celebration on Nov. 18 to 27.
He said DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson intends to visit Cebu to hold a public hearing on the projects on Oct. 28.
“I think DPWH wanted to get all the inputs, then they will have to decide because there can’t be continuous dialogue,” Raul told Cebu Daily News.
Del Mar said he is confident that the DPWH would see the logic of having flyover projects in Cebu City.
Osmeña said the suspension will give more time for discussion and correct “misinformation” on the projects.
“Manila wants to be sure so it’s okay. We are not hiding anything and Manila wanted to be transparent so it’s okay,” he said.
While he supports calls for a master plan, Osmeña said it is always subject to change especially when funding is scarce.
Osmeña said Rama opposed the flyovers because he wanted to secure the funding for his own projects.
Dismay
He said flyover opponents like Pages and Lee are Rama’s alter egos who have their own interest to protect.
“Let them come out and speak their mind and we will answer that,” said Osmeña.
Osmeña said he also experienced opposition on the South Road Properties (SRP) from his cousin and former senator John Osmeña.
The congressman also expressed dismay on the Asilo dela Milagrosa nuns.
Osmeña said when he made the proposal to sell the 11,000-sq.-meter Asilo lot donated to them by the Aboitiz family that was valued at P200 million, he wanted to know how well the nuns care for the 200 orphans under their care.
Instead, Osmeña said he was disappointed to hear the nuns express concern on how the flyover project would affect their fence and rock garden.
“Maybe I should not have said it but I wanted the people to understand. I thought the nuns cared about the orphans but I was wrong,” he said.
The congressman said while the property is tax exempt, the eight nuns running the facility barely helped the orphans.
He said the Asilo lot may be put to better use if taxes are collected from it and the city spends collected taxes on community scouts for the 200 children.
Osmeña said he wanted to raise the matter during the Oct. 28 public hearing. /By Marian Z. Codilla Candeze R. Mongaya and Doris C. Bongcac
Any flyover projects would have to be built outside the urban core or in peripheral areas that would facilitate the entry and exit of vehicles to and from Cebu City.
Based on this urban planning principle, Architect Joseph Espina, dean of the College of Architecture and Fine Arts in the University of San Carlos (USC), said a better location for flyovers would be the South Road Properties (SRP) or North Reclamation Area (NRA).
Espina gave the assessment amid a threat by flyover opponents to file suit to stop the rise of two flyovers planned for Gorordo Avenue and M.J. Cuenco Avenue this year.
“We are already prepared. If they don’t listen to us, we will go to court,” said businessman Joel Lee.
Lee is the convenor of the Movement for a Liveable Cebu, formerly called the Stop Cebu Flyovers Movement.
Espina said the plan of former congressman Raul del Mar to build a series of seven flyovers in the city would only worsen traffic congestion.
“I doubt if it can solve our traffic problems. It would only worsen the traffic inside the urban core by inviting more vehicles, concentrating it in their areas,” Espina said.
Aerial view of the South Road Properties
Based on principles of urban planning, Espina said that flyovers should be placed outside the urban core, in this case The SRP or North Reclamation Area.
Espina said del Mar and his daughter Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar of Cebu City’s south district, should have consulted the public first before proceeding with the flyover projects.
“A master plan should be a community initiative. The planners must only come in when we already have a vision for our city. Flyovers are expensive infrastructures that are difficult to destroy. We better stop it now while we still can,” Espina said.
Meanwhile, Lee said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-7) and del Mar violated Section 25 of the Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code which requires public consultation before the implementation of government projects.
He also lamented the absence of a master plan for the two flyovers along the juncture of MJ Cuenco and Gorordo Avenue and Maxilom and Archbishop Reyes Avenues which costs P300 million each.
The elder del Mar said he wants to see a network of seven flyovers in the city’s northern district, including one near the Carmelite’s monastery in barangay Mabolo.
He said these proposed two-lane flyovers with a length of .400 km each will be built in the junction of Gorordo Avenue and Salinas Drive, Gorordo Avenue and Dona Modesta Gaisano Street and Juan Luna Avenue and MJ Cuenco Avenue.
The Gorordo-Salinas drive flyover is worth P200 million while Gorordo Avenue and Dona Modesta Gaisano St flyover is worth P180 million.
The flyover in Juan Luna Avenue and MJ Cuenco Avenue is worth P230 million.
Del Mar said the network of seven flyover projects for the north district will resolve traffic congestion. /Candeze R. Mongaya, Reporter
Let stakeholders decide on flyovers, Palma says
“Let the Cebu people choose and react about it, without thinking so much about personal vested interest. It should be for the good of the community,” Palma told Cebu Daily News.
Palma had an hour-long closed door meeting with Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar of Cebu City’s north district along with her father Raul, the former congressman, at the Archbishop’s Residence yesterday.
After the meeting, Palma said the church needs to hear both the proponents and the opponents of the flyover projects being implemented by the Dept. of Public Works and Highways.
The del Mars are proponents of the flyover projects which cost P300 million each. Work was scheduled to start in November but the Gorordo Avenue flyover will likely be postponed to February next year due to last-minute changes in the design to avoid damaging the Asilo dela Milagrosa property.
The Cebu Archdiocese will make an official statement about the issue.
Palma said he would still have to confer with dicoesan priests on the matter.
The Movement for a Liveable Cebu (MLC) composed of citizen stakeholders opposed to the flyovers earlier met with Palma last Oct. 4 to ask for guidance.
The prelate earlier admitted that he is personally against the flyovers but that he is not yet ready to speak officially on behalf of the Archdiocese on the matter.
“But as I said I’m not a Cebuano, so I could not feel the possible difficulty it will entail,” Palma said.
Palma said del Mar told him that consultation was done and a master plan was already in effect which involved road widening.
She said this would entail longer planning and a bigger budget.
Palma said he reminded the flyover proponents to preserve the heritage value of establishments to be affected during the construction.
“There should be respect for old architecture,” Palma said.
The lady legislator recently wrote to Transportation and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas to request for an updated transportation master plan for Cebu, which wuld cost P30 million.
She said if it would be approved, the DOTC would become the main proponent of the master plan. /By Doris C. Bongcac and Candeze R. Mongaya
Delay seen in Gorordo flyover; DPWH to seek moratorium
10/08/2011
Work on the Gorordo Avenue flyover may be delayed until February next year instead of November, an official said.
This is due to last-minute changes being made in the design to avoid damaging the Asilo dela Milagrosa compound, said lawyer Agustinito Hermoso of the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“I will file a formal request for a moratorium addressed to the DPWH central office,” he said at the end of a forum held at a conference hall of the Asilo dela Milagrosa.
The DPWH legal officer said he would recommend to the head office a “review” of the flyover project.
“We will not touch a single centimeter of Asilo property,” he earlier assured.
- DPWH-7 lawyer Agustinito P. Hermosa (standing right) answers questions about the proposed flyovers in Cebu City during a forum mounted by the Movement for a Liveable Cebu. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
DPWH-7 officials took the heat in the forum, where citizen stakeholders questioned the technical basis and impact of building two flyovers worth P600 million in the “urban core” of Cebu City.
Hermoso came with engineer Leah Negre from the DPWH planning division and engineer Nicomedes Leonor Jr. of the Cebu City District Engineering.
About 100 persons attended the forum organized by the Movement for a Liveable Cebu, a lobby group opposing the rise of more flyovers.
“With regard to flyovers, we can say with certainty that it will continue,” Hermoso said, unless PresidentBenigno Aquino III or the Supreme Court intervenes.
He said they are in “consultation mode” for possible changes in the flyover design on instructions of Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar, who noted media reports that the nuns were upset by a 3.7- meter setback that would destroy their fence, grotto-garden, a crisis center, and push the boundary line up close to the main door of the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal.
Hermoso said the DPWH contractor may not be able to start the first phase as scheduled on November because of these changes to divert the foundation posts away from Asilo property.
Various church activities in December and the Sinulog in January are other factors that would push the start of work forward to February, he said.
He said stakeholders in Gorordo Avenue would be consulted once plans are finalized. The changes will entail more cost but he said Representative Del Mar assured she would find a way to cover the additional cost.
Hermoso got boos from the crowd when he said the two flyovers underwent public consultation at the barangay level before plans were finalized. He couldn’t recall dates of the meetings.
Louella Alix, a member of the anti-flyover movement, was teary-eyed as she lamented the “trifling” treatment of the DPWH in an expensive project.
“We expect transparency and consultation,” Alix said.
She challenged the DPWH to show their studies and the minutes of the meeting of the public consultations made.
DPWH representatives spoke for less than two minutes. They said they didn’t prepare a presentation because they thought they would be meeting a small group.
A panel for four speakers from the Movement for a Liveable Cebu were given three minutes each to talk.
Joel Lee, co-convenor, said the impact on the environment and heritage value should be considered before building any flyovers.
He mentioned his meeting the other day with Raul del Mar who told him that his daughter already wrote to Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas asking for help to fund a transportation master plan for Cebu that would cost P30 million.
The Del Mars were invited to the forum but didn’t attend.
Cutie del Mar, in a text message, said she already visited Asilo yesterday, met with the nuns and was “able to address all their concerns.”
Joseph Espina, dean of the College of Architecture and Fine Arts in the University of San Carlos (USC), said the flyovers being planned in Cebu City “go against all urban planning principles.”
He said flyovers should only be built in the periphery of the city “ but not within the urban core.” He said these massive structures can “divide” society, and pose danger by encouraging crime and unfriendly neighborhoods due to less interaction among people.
Architect Melva Java of the Cebu Heritage Institute and Research said many heritage sites are found in Gorordo Avenue, including the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal and Asilo dela Milagrosa.
“We treasure our heritage zones. We have to protect them,” Java said.
The National Committee on Monuments and Sites (NCMS) also issued an official statement opposing the proposed flyover in Gorordo Avenue “due to the damage it will entail to the cultural values of the old thoroughfare where a number of heritage structures are located.
They asked for a master plan that would guide guide infrastructure projects.
Hermoso said that suggestions of the anti-flyover movement to make Cebu a “sustainable” city were applicable only for first world countries and “are not applicable here.”
“The roads in Cebu are narrow. There’s nothing we can do about it. We have to adapt with what we have. To widen roads is our only alternative but it is very expensive,” he said.
“That’s the price we have to pay for progress.”
72 barangay chiefs want flyovers
10/07/2011
BEFORE a hall filled with Cebu City barangay captains, father and daughter yesterday thanked officials for supporting plans to build two more flyovers in the city.
“More than adequate discussions on the issue of the flyover have been made in the past weeks,” said Raul del Mar.
“But what is the truth? Maayo ba ang flyover?”
“Maayo,” the crowd replied.
His daughter Rep. Cutie del Mar of the north district also thanked them.
A total of 72 of 80 barangay captains in Cebu City signed a manifesto of support for the projects proposed along Gorordo Avenue and M.J. Cuenco Avenue worth P300-million each.
The manifesto was circulated in yesterday’s assembly of the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) held in a Lapu-Lapu City beach resort.
It was signed by all 46 north district barangay captains and 26 from the south.
Raul said this was on top of over 30,000 signatures that they gathered from north district residents who support their flyover projects.
Tejero barangay captain Jesselou Cadungog showed up in a yellow T-shirt with the front and back marked: “Kap Cadungog yes to flyover.” Raul thanked him for more than 2,000 signatures of support from Tejero residents.
“Kuwang pa gani na, Congressman,” Cadungog replied.
Cutie told CDN the signature campaign was started last month by businessmen who supported her flyover projects.
Most of the talking in the ABC forum about the flyover issue was done by Raul, a a former three-term congressman.
He said people shouldn’t worry about about inconveniences during the flyover construction because Cutie had asked DPWH to prevent any delays.
Raul disagreed with observations that flyovers made the location “ugly” and adds to air pollution.
He said that air quality remains the same even if a flyover project is built in a certain road. He said the volume of vehicles on a road remain the same whether or not a flyover is built there.
Raul said the two new proposed flyovers are part of a network of flyover projects he started to implement in Cebu City north district when he was the congressman.
He cited the three flyovers in Banilad near Ma. Luisa Subdivsion, the Tesda intersection, and near Ayala Mall in Archbishop Reyes Avenue.
The fourth will be the one beside the Asilo dela Milagrosa. A fifth will rise along M.J. Cuenco Avenue near the Carreta cemetery.
He admitted that flyovers alone won’t solve traffic congestion. He told barangay captains that he already funded the widening of F. Cabahug Street and Salinas Drive from San Jose dela Montana Road in Mabolo to Lahug when he was still district representative.
Representative Del Mar also got a P150-million funding for the widening of the Banilad Road while another P180 million is scheduled for release next year for the widening of M. J. Cuenco Road to barangay Mabolo.
“Pero ug naa ang funding sa flyover, ato pa gyud di ay paabuton ang funding sa road widening usa nato ni i-implement?”
Master plan
Meanwhile, Cutie said she wrote Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas to ask his help in getting a transport master plan for Metro Cebu made to update the Metro Cebu Land Use and Transport Study (MCLUTS), which was made in the 1970s.
“The preparation of a successor plan to MCLUTS is long overdue,” she said in her Sept. 26 letter.
Most of the MCLUTS recommendations have been done, such as the Mandaue Reclamation Project and the South Reclamation Project, new road links and better traffic management.
“Since MCLUTS was a project of the Department of Transportation and Communications, may I request your good office to conduct another round of transportation planning and traffic management study for Metro Cebu to encompass the 13 cities and municipalities from Carcar in the south to Danao City in the north,” said Representative Del Mar’s letter.
The master plan, she said, is expected to cost P30 million.
It would cover the preparation of a strategic plan that would guide developments in Metro Cebu until 2030. Chief of reporters DORIS C. BONGCAC
‘LET’S AGREE TO DISAGREE’
10/07/2011
By Candeze Mongaya and Marian Codilla
Del Mars rally brgy captains; won’t attend Asilo forum today
- Cebu City North District Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” Del Mar thanks barangay captains headed by T. Padilla barangay captain Michael Ralota (center) of their support her two flyover projects during an assembly at the Tambuli East Beach Resort in Lapu-Lapu City. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Just don’t expect to see Rep. Cutie del Mar of Cebu City’s north district and advocates of Stop Cebu Flyovers in the same room talking about it.
She was invited to a 3 p.m. forum today at the Asilo dela Milagrosa to discuss the impact of building two more flyovers in Gorordo Avenue and M.J. Cuenco but Del Mar won’t be there.
“No need because we have listened to all their issues already,” said the congresswoman.
Yesterday, she and her father Raul gathered more signatures for a manifesto of support for flyovers from 72 of Cebu City’s 80 barangay captains during an assembly of the Association of Barangay Councils held in Lapu-Lapu City. (See separate story.)
Work on the P300-million Gorordo Avenue flyover, which critics fear will damage the historic Asilo dela Milagrosa without solving traffic congestion, is set to start next month by WTG Construction supervised by the Dept. of Public Works and Highways.
DPWH engineers and officials from the region 7 office said they would attend today’s forum.
“They are not ready to give up,” said Joel Lee, co-convenor of the newly renamed Movement for a Liveable Cebu, which is mounting the dialogue today.
But Lee said the lobby group would continue to explain issues behind the flyover controversy to Cebuanos and consider taking legal action to stop the projects.
Forum speakers include Dean Joseph Espina of the University of San Carlos College of Architecture and Fine Arts, Architect Melva Java on heritage conservation, Lee of Permaculture Cebu who will talk about what makes a “liveable city,” and an environment lawyer.
They will discuss the need for Cebu’s growth to consider principles of urban design, long-term planning, heritage and a sustainable environment.
Lee said the flyover controversy is bringing out local expertise and prompting professional organizations to speak up, which didn’t happen before in the 2007 failed protest against the Banilad-Talamban flyover.
In other developments:
*Diocesan priests in Cebu are winding up their retreat in Talavera and due to release a statement about the flyover issue.
* Rep. Cutie del Mar and her father are set to meet Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma for a dialogue on Saturday with Sister Letecia Derilo, administrator of the Daughters of Charity, which runs the charity house and Shrine of the Miraculous Medal.
Two more citizen groups came out with official positions against the rise of flyovers.
The Bosconian International Chamber of Commerce–Cebu Chapter in a statement asked for a “moratorium” on flyovers because these did not undergo public consultation and lacked a master plan.
The United Architect of the Philippines (UAP) in Cebu, in a position paper, said it supports the Movement for a Liveable Cebu and a stop to the flyover projects.
“Designing away the need for cars is the most important step in creating sustainable places,” said the UAP chapter.
“Putting up flyovers does not necessarily mean solution for traffic as well. Traffic congestion may be caused by multiple reasons and not only due to more cars that the road can accommodate. It may be implementation of our traffic rules, drivers road courtesy, riding public’s discipline, signages and designated stops, and narrow roads that need widening.”
The Cebu architects called on officials to “review our alternatives” and “build right” to ensure Cebu’s urban design will “meet the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.”
The Bosconian International Chamber of Commerce–Cebu Chapter scored the lack of careful planning.
“It is totally unacceptable that these flyovers that are proposed for the community are not made in relation to an updated and comprehensive master plan,” it said.
The group said the historical value of the urban core of Cebu cannot be defaced by the installation of “humongous infrastructures.”
The group urged government agencies to focus on building a mass transit system, sidewalks, bike lanes and open space for the people. The additional flyovers would encourage the use of more vehicles, which could worsen issues on pollution and climate change, they said.
While flyovers are not the complete answer to traffic congestion, Cutie del Mar said the problem has to be addressed today.
“I cannot just sit down and watch so much traffic going by. We have to do something right now,” she said in an interview.
“This is something that DPWH has studied already. We respect every opinion and take everything into consideration but in the end we still decide for the common good,” she said.
Lee, a hotel owner, said he met yesterday afternoon with Raul del Mar at the Casino Español and pleaded for him to delay construction and make a careful study of the flyovers.
But the elder Del Mar “really believes that flyover is the solution” to traffic, Lee told Cebu Daily News.
According to Del Mar, the two new flyovers on Gorordo Avenue and M.J. Cuenco would complete a “series” of three existing flyovers from Banilad to uptown Cebu City that would have vehicles “travel without stopping.”
They also discussed the budget for an updated traffic master plan, but Del Mar insisted that the two flyovers should be made first for urgent purposes.
“We agreed that sustainability and the Bus Rapid System is good for Cebu but he said that this was a long-term solution,” Lee said.
- Asilo dela Milagrosa Chapel
Adjustments” will be made to ensure that construction of a P300 million flyover project along Gorordo Avenue won’t damage the Asilo dela Milagrosa church, a public works official said.
“It’s possible to make adjustments. We already discussed it with our engineers,” said Augustinito Hermoso, legal counsel of thehe Department fo Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7), yesterday.
“Only the sidewalk of the church will be affected,” he said.
Work on the overpass is expected to start next month.
Meanwhile, a dialog is set for 3 p.m. Friday at the the Asilo dela Milagrosa’s St. Catherine Hall.
Invitations were sent to the DPWH and Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar by the coalition formerly called Stop Cebu Flyovers.
The group has renamed itself Movement for a Liveable Cebu, said convenor Joel Lee, a permaculture advocate and hotel owner.
The group met yesterday with Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma to seek guidance in their campaign against the implementation of two flyover projects Rep. del Mar is sponsoring in the city’s north district.
The group visited Palma during the annual retreat of the clergy in the Talavera House of Prayer in Cebu City.
Lee said they explained their side to Archbishop Palma, who “carefully listened” to their discussions and told them that the priests would also deliberate on the matter.
“He said that they would also issue an official statement in behalf of the clergy,” Lee said.
Palma previously told Cebu Daily News that he personally objects to the flyover, but he isn’t speaking on behalf of the Archdiocese since the clergy needs to discuss the issue.
The movement also sent invitations to del Mar and the DPWH for a dialogue this Friday afternoon at the Asilo dela Milagrosa.
“As representatives, they should be more visible and explain their project,” said Lee.
Red paint marks on the perimeter wall of Asilo dela Milagrosa show the measurements “+3.70” with a directional arrow to mark the 3.7 meter setback to be made for the flyover project by the DPWH.
The nuns overseeing the church and a charity house for indigents and elderly said this would mean destroying part of the garden grotto, a crisis center, parking lot, two guard houses and would push back the wall close to the main door of the church.
Hermoso said Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar of Cebu City’s north district talked to him about the situation and they agreed to look for solutions to save the structures in the church property.
Hermoso said the posts and foundation for the flyover which covers the first phase of the project starts next month.
Hermoso said WTG Construction won the bidding last August in Manila and the notice of award was issued in the first week of September.
Another firm, WT Construction, won the bid for the flyover in MJ Cuenco Avenue near the Carreta cemetery.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama scoffed at the earlier suggestion of Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district to sell the Asilo Dela Milagrosa and let the nuns move elsewhere.
“That is ridiculous. How could he suggest that? He is creating more of a problem.” Rama told Cebu Daily News.
Osmeña, who supports the flyover projects, said these should not be set aside since it would be beneficial to the city residents. /with Correspondent Edison delos Angeles
‘DROP FLYOVER FOR THE NUNS?’
10/03/2011
Tom says projects cannot be sacrificed, says Church can sell property
Opponents of the flyover projects in Cebu City gained some support in their campaign from Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, something which city officials like Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district dismissed as inconsequential.
“I can understand if he (Palma) expresses sympathy for the nuns but that doesn’t mean there will be no flyover. We cannot sacrifice the welfare of the greater good for the sake of the privacy of the nuns,” said the former mayor, who supported the flyover projects.
In a text message to Cebu Daily News, Palma said he will consult with the other priests in the Archdiocese on their position in the flyover projects.
Osmeña, who accused Mayor Michael Rama of trying to divert the budget for the flyover projects for his own programs, said if Palma wanted to help he should help prepare a master plan.
“Anyone can do that, (Mayor) Michael Rama doesn’t want to do it he only wants to talk about it…I need to know if they are talking as traffic experts or are they speaking their personal opinion or are they speaking on behalf of God? Let’s make it clear,” Osmeña said.
Last Saturday about 50 people, including Mayor Rama, joined nuns of the Asilo dela Milagrosa in a candle-lit prayer walk at dawn to signify their opposition to the construction of a flyover in Gorordo Avenue, one of two projects to be built in the city.
Sell the property
Parishioners voiced fears that a 3.7-meter setback marked on the wall of the Asilo dela Milagrosa building would result in damaging part of a garden-grotto, parking lot, guardhouses and crisis intervention center.
They said this would also push the boundary wall up to the main door of the 50-year-old church, thus destroying its heritage value and the “solemnity” of their Masses.
Rep. Rachel del Mar of Cebu City’s north district, whose father Raul del Mar pushed for the projects during his stint as congressman, said she asked officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) not to let the flyover construction affect the church.
Osmeña said a barrier can be set up to protect the church’s privacy.
“That’s no longer functioning as a school anyway. (Asilo Dela Milagrosa) used to be a school before, that’s not functioning anymore. That’s a very big property, why don’t they sell it and use the money to help the poor?,” the congressman told Cebu Daily News.
Cebu City Vice Mayor Joy Young, who also came out in support of the flyover projects, also said Palma is merely stating his opinion on the issue.
Validation
Palma’s statement came as organizers of the Stop Cebu Flyovers Movement said they will seek discernment from clergy leaders in their lobbying for public support in their campaign.
Joel Lee said they will seek an audience with Palma and archbishop emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal for enlightenment on their campaign.
“Their involvement raises the topic that we’re after the common good. This is a validation on how significant the topic is,” he said.
The group is opposed to the construction of a flyover in the juncture of MJ Cuenco and Gorordo Avenue.
Members of the Stop Cebu Flyover Movement including church and business stakeholders visited Palma last Sept. 8 in the Archbishop’s residence.
Lee said Palma, incoming president of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) “openly welcomed” their visit.
He said they are not asking for Palma’s stand on the flyovers, but they want to seek his guidance on discerning the issue.
He said they would also schedule another meeting with Palma as they continue to seek for his guidance.
“He’s the leader of the spiritual community. His statement would speak on behalf of the Catholics in Cebu. We just ask them to lead the dialogue, discussions and discernment on the issue. We are not trying to insist our point of view,” Lee said.
He said they also want to meet with the proponents of the flyover project, including Rep. del Mar and DPWH officials.
“As public officials, why can’t they openly discuss this matter? The DPWH is not competent to make urban planning. This is what people need to understand,” he said. /Candeze R. Mongaya and Edison delos Angeles
MAYOR JOINS NUNS’ APPEAL
The group recited the rosary as four men carried the image of the Lady of the Miraculous Medal on their shoulders.
A nun announced before the “aurora” or dawn procession that the prayers were being offered for the “enlightenment” of the community about what to do about the pending construction of a flyover, which parishioners fear will destroy the “solemnity” and “heritage value” of the church, which is over 50 years old.
Meanwhile, the petition of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul has been raised to Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.
The prelate hasn’t given his position yet, and said he would reflect on the matter before speaking.
Two sources told Cebu Daily News representatives of the religious congregation were able to meet the archbishop to convey their concern. He asked for time to make a proper “discernment.”
Yesterday’s dawn procession opened the month of October, which is traditionally celebrated as the Month of the Rosary among Catholics.
It started at the Asilo dela Milagrosa about 4 a.m. and proceeded to the road section in front of Family Choice Restaurant, where one end of the proposed flyover will be built.
In solemn unity, the group walked down Gorordo Avenue up to the Colegio dela Inmaculada, then turned around to headed back to the church as they prayed the rosary.
Among those who joined the prayer walk, which lasted almost an hour, were residents of Gorordo Avenue and supporters of the Stop Cebu Flyover Movement led by West Gorordo hotel owner Joel Lee, Louella and Rudy Alix, and Architect Joy Onozawa.
Mayor Rama later said he is hoping that “there should always be listening and a softening of hearts.”
“We have faith. We’ll leave it up to God. ‘Thy will be done.’ … It may not be, it may be, but there will always be reason for everything,” Rama said.
The dawn procession will be held for nine consecutive Saturdays.
- Dawn procession attended by “No To Flyover” movers
Mayor Rama is seeking the intervention of President Aquino to suspend the P300-million project of the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which is set to start construction in November.
Rama who heads the Banilad-Talamban Taskforce, along with the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management, has objected to the rise of two flyovers as “extremely inefficient” in addressing traffic congestion. They are pressing instead for road widening, flared intersections and an updated Traffic Master Plan to guide developments in Metro Cebu.
Rama is also upset that the “heritage value” of Asilo dela Milagrosa, landmark in Cebu City, would be compromised by the project.
“I’ve been very clear about my stand ever since. If it does not work there (Banilad-Talamban flyover), obviously its not going to work here. It’s the same problem. The road is not wide enough and the flyover being made does not jive,” he said.
On the other hand, Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar, backed by the Cebu City Council and most barangays in the north district, are pushing fo the additional flyovers saying P600 million was available and funds should be used for the purpose.
- Former congressman Raul Del Mar and daughter Cebu City North District Rep. Rachel “Cutie” Del Mar.
She and her father, Raul, the former congressmen, had worked two years to secure the DPWH budget for the project. While they are not the complete solution to traffic congestion, she said they provide much-needed relief for motorists in busy intersections of M.J. Cuenco and Gorordo Avenue.
Last Thursday, Del Mar said she was concerned after reading in CDN that a 3.7-meter setback marked by DPWH on the wall of the Asilo dela Milagrosa would mean having to destroy part of a garden-grotto, parking lot, guardhouses and crisis intervention center as well as push the boundary wall up to the main door of the church.
She said she immediately discussed the matter with DPWH Cebu City District engineer Nicomedes Leonor Jr. “to do everything possible to make sure that nothing in Asilo Chruch and other buildings including their fence” will be affected by the flyover construction.
DPWH-7 legal counsel Ausutinito Hermoso earlier said work on the Gorordo flyover is set to being in November. The project was already awarded to WTG Construction.
Another flyover is set to rise in MJ Cuenco Avenue near the Carreta cemetery.
The faculty of the College of Architecture and Fine Arts of the University of San Carlos and Graduate School of Urban Planning issued a position paper last week saying flyovers “don’t belong in the urban core” of Cebu City and instead should be built in the periphery.
They underscored the need for proper “physical planning” or else the city would suffer from further “urban decay”.
Louella Alix, a member of the Cebu Archdiocesan Commission on Church Heritage, said she hopes the public will see that a flyover “is just a band aid solution.”
“A flyover in Gorordo is unthinkable,” said Alix, who lives in Gorordo Avenue.
“We are brought up to believe in prayer. It’s an act of faith. We believe something will come out,” Alix said.
Another supporter, although he didn’t join the procession, is Big Brother celebrity housemate Budoy Maraviles, who was seen at the church.
He composed a song “Stop Flyover” with a reggae beat, which is being played on some local radio stations.
“Naay daghang solution pag-solve sa traffic. Dili ko uyon anang flyovers. Sayang lang ang kuwarta (There are many ways to solve traffic congestion. I oppose the construction of flyovers. It’s just a waste of public funds),” Maraviles told Cebu Daily News.
“Ang mga politiko naa man gyuy motive. Syempre, unahon ang ilang interest—dili ang sa katawhan. Awhag lang nako nila nga unahon unta ang unsay maka-benefit sa siyudad (Politicians always have motive in everything they do. Of course, they prioritize their own interest, not the common good of people. I urge politicians to prioritize what will be beneficial for the city),” he said.
Flyovers won’t affect BRT, Tomas says
10/01/2011
THE flyover projects in Cebu City will not affect implementation of the proposed multibillion-peso Bus RapidTransit (BRT) project, said Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district.
Osmeña, a BRT proponent, said he assured World Bank officials who were worried that the flyovers will affect the BRT system.
He said this could be solved by expanding certain flyovers to four lanes to allow the buses to pass by.
“The BRT requires four lanes of road but in certain areas that can be easily addressed,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Osmeña said World Bank officials agreed in “principle” to grant Cebu City a loan to fund the BRT project.
“I will see to it that the infrastructure portion repayment will be done by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC),” the congressman said.
Osmeña said other aspects like its rolling stock and other equipment needed for its operation may be covered by those to be tapped to manage its operation.
“We need national government’s help because the private sector is reluctant to pay for the infrastructure and the widening of roads,” he said.
Cebu City would need P1.4 billion alone for the BRT project at the South Road Properties (SRP).
The Cities Development Initiative in Asia (CDIA) commissioned the Integrated Transport Planning (ITP) to conduct the feasibility study of the BRT in the SRP.
ITP chief Colin Brader presented their study before the Cebu City Council last Wednesday afternoon.
Brader said the BRT will be done in two phases.
The first phase to be completed in 2013 will cover infrastructure for the transport system within the BRT.
It will be incorporated with the traffic system outside the SRP.
The second phase to be done two years later will connect to a pilot route in barangay Mambaling and coastal areas. /Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac
Can Prayers Halt Work?
9/26/2011
Nuns in Asilo chapel start dawn rosary; sisters alarmed by Gorordo flyover plan
by Candeze R. Mongaya, Reporter
Nuns in the Asilo dela Milgarosa are turning to prayer power to try to head off the construction of a flyover next to their chapel in Gorordo Avenue, Cebu City, which they worry will destroy the “solemnity” of the place.
Starting Oct. l, they will hold dawn rosaries in the chapel for nine consecutive Saturdays to pray for “discernment” on what to do.
The special “aurora” prayers at 4 a.m. are open to the public and will be participated by the nuns, a pastoral team, and parishioners.
The activity, which was announced at Mass, will begin this Saturday, according to an office secretary in the reception desk of the orphanage run by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.
Banners of the “Stop Cebu Flyovers Movement” hang outside the walls of the compound which includes a more than 50-year-old chapel, a garden and a charity house for orphans and senior citizens.
The massive flyover will also affect road access to the nearby Perpetual Succour Hospital run by the Sisters of St. Paul Chartres.
A flyover “would be more noisy and would ruin the solemnity and ambience of this place,” said Sister Leticia Deilio, the administrator, during a public forum of anti-flyover advocates held at the Asilo gym last Sept. 17.
- Asilo Garden
Half of the garden which has a grotto of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the frontage of the church grounds would be affected, she explained.
About three meters of the area from the road along Gorordo Avenue would be taken by developers during construction of the flyover, said the nun.
Joel Lee, a coordinator of the Stop Cebu Flyovers Movement, said the nuns wanted to “discern” as a community how to deal with plans of the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to build a P300 million concrete overpass on Gorordo Avenue and MJ Cuenco Avenue.
“The nuns are not confrontational and demanding,” Lee said and would also pray for “more hearts and minds” for a more sustainable Cebu.
“ There will be focus on discernment for the common good,” he said.
Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar of Cebu City’s north district is pushing for the project, which was started by her father Raul, as the previous congressman.
With P600 million in funds already available in the DPWH budget for two flyovers, del Mar said work would start this year to ease traffic congestion.
The Cebu City Council and various barangay councils gave their support for del Mar’s projects.
The proposed flyovers, however, have drawn mounting criticism from Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom), environment groups, private urban planners, and recently, the College of Architecture of the University of San Carlos and Graduate School for Urban Design.
Citom traffic managers called the two additional flyovers an “extremely inefficient” solution to congestion and warned of new hazards posed to pedestrians and vehicle flow in the area.
A position paper by USC’s faculty and students of architecture and urban planning, said “flyovers have no place inside the urban core” of Cebu City and warned of further “urban decay” if public infrastructure continues to be built without “comprehensive physical planning” for the long term.
The DPWH, meanwhile, said the flyover projects are feasible based on a study they made of a three-day 24 hour vehicle count.
Lee and other pro-ecology members of Permaculture Cebu are advocating a a “sustainable and liveable” city with enough space for pedestrians and bike lanes and less pollution from vehicles.
Some alternative raised by the Stop Cebu Flyovers Movement is to open more alternative routes in the streets, create a mass transportation system and have a transport master plan for Cebu to guide future projects.
Lee expressed his concern over the announcement of Rep. Tomas Osmeña that he would have a new flyover built in the Cebu South Road Properties.
“This should not be about political alliances. There’s more to this than just flyovers. They should also consider the impact,” Lee said.
Where do flyovers belong?
THE proposed flyovers are by themselves not objectionable except for the fact that they may be improperly located and misplaced. As espoused by the Stop Cebu Flyovers Movement, the flyovers could benefit from a necessary review through comprehensive planning and urban design.
Traditionally, the city can basically be defined by its boundaries which are the downtown area or the inner urban core from the pier up to Sanciangko St., the uptown area up to Mango Ave., the outer urban core up to Escario St. and the urban fringes which used to be up to Lahug. Today, of course the City has grown tremendously. What used to be rural areas (Banilad up to Talamban) in the 1970s are now our new urban fringes. Even so, this traditional urban fabric deserves to be preserved if only to maintain the sense of place which we all know and long to be Cebu!
From an urban design perspective, the visual form of the City can emanate from an orderly arrangement of its distinctive elements including “Paths” (flyovers and streets). By its very nature, flyovers bode well if located at the urban fringes rather than the urban core because of narrower streets, congestion, pollution, and all the tangibles.
The reason why opposition to the planned flyovers is more intense than ever today, is precisely because these are now intruding into the urban core – a very private space which residents consider sacred. A public image of the City is being maintained by large numbers of the City’s inhabitants which they treasure and protect. With these new flyovers, the traditional sentiments and feelings of Cebuanos are being violated.
The boundaries between the inner urban core (downtown), uptown area, outer urban core and the urban fringe are another defining element to the City identified by Lynch as the “Edges”. To be able to establish legibility in the City, these edges or boundaries should be inviolable. Flyovers have no place inside the urban core.
The City could also do well if “Nodes” and “Landmarks” are identified and well-defined. It could further enhance legibility of the urban fabric. Large infrastructures such as flyovers are normally used as “Nodes” defining entrances or exits to the urban core rather than compete for space inside these areas.
THE NEED TO CONNECT
Filipinos have a natural penchant to “connect”. Social interaction and human relations thrive in a traditionally open and free environment. Streets are normally venues for interaction among residents. Barriers and obstructions to this “need” to connect are not normally acceptable. The flyovers located especially along streets in the urban core impose unwanted barriers to social interaction.
Furthermore, the flyovers pose potential risks to safety and security. These huge infrastructures create dark and dingy spaces at night which are difficult to police. Reduced visibility violate the concepts of defensible space and discourage natural surveillance in urban areas which need it most. Such conditions contribute much to the degradation of the urban setting usually commencing a series of reactions from the public.
Residents begin to protect and fortify their properties by constructing higher fences, installing security grilles and hiring security guards. What follows is a general fear of the economically disadvantaged and further segregation of society – the exact opposite of our need to connect.
AN APPEAL
There is no better long-term solution than comprehensive physical planning but this could take some time to realize. Meantime, it is incumbent upon our officials to heed this call to Stop The Cebu Flyovers if only to respect the voice of a resurgent and significant portion of the Cebuano community who yearns to participate in planning their future. The opportunity to rise above personal interests is at hand for every right-minded Cebuano to embrace. May we all be enlightened by this experience and have the courage to keep our hearts and minds open whatever the outcome.
Cebu City deserves good design, not urban decay
This position paper was submitted by Architect Joseph Espina, dean of the USC College of Architecture, with the hope that decision makers and citizens would be guided in determining the future of Cebu City. Originally written as one piece, with the title “Stop the Cebu Flyovers”, Cebu Daily News is presenting it here as two articles.
It is a reality that street crime, visible poverty, deteriorating infrastructure, informal settlers and blighted neighborhoods are becoming increasingly common in our urban setting. But we have probably become so callous to the situation that we fail to recognize this dangerous and silent progression that is not being given the attention it deserves. And it has the potential, in the end, to hinder Cebuano society’s quest for a decent urban life. Already, there is a steady flow of residents and commercial establishments moving out of the downtown areas toward new developments along the hillsides and in the urban fringes, leaving the inner city blighted.
SYMPTOMS OF URBAN DECAY
To be able to fully absorb the situation, we only have to observe what is happening in these areas. Cleanliness and sanitation are increasingly a problem, traffic congestion has worsened, criminality is on the rise, flooding, illegal vendors and informal settlers… These are typical symptoms of urban decay.
Contributing to this dire situation are government policies which by themselves further exacerbate conditions. The proposed construction of more flyovers in Cebu is a potential problem just about to happen. And it does not take that long to see and feel the results. Some existing flyovers are a testament to the fact that flyovers are not the solution to specific intersections. There is a need to conduct a thorough study and let the results of those studies be the basis for the formulation of specific solutions to particular problems.
INTANGIBLES
Much has been said against the construction of the flyovers. Among those already mentioned by the “movement” are the violation of the people’s right to participate, the need for a comprehensive master plan, increase in vehicular density and air pollution, etc.
These are points which speak for themselves and are understandable owing to their tangible nature. We could readily see the need for citizen participation, the worsening traffic or air pollution. But there are the “intangibles” – factors which are not clear or definite enough to be seen nor felt easily. Many of these factors are related to urban design or the concepts of space. Much of it has to do with the City’s image which is crucial towards acceptability and ownership of the City by the residents themselves. That image must impart a sense of security and livability for the city-dwellers.
The classic book, entitled “Image of the City”, a required reading for urban planners, by Kevin Lynch, theorizes extensively about urban design. In the book, Lynch imparts that the design of cities is a temporal art, very much like the design of buildings or paintings or literature. The difference lies in the scale of the City and the limited control which can be exercised by its planners or administrators. While painters can exercise full control over his work of art, the many factors which influence urban design make it more difficult for planners to control the design of the City.
In designing a building or a residence, it is a basic design principle that its plan should be legible and transparent to the user. As one enters the structure, one is able to perceive the spaces within, the circulation is clear, the location of stairs, toilets and other spaces are perceptible. With legibility, a user is able to navigate successfully inside the building. Similarly, cities should be legible and understood by the residents. The streets and views are unobstructed, different areas of the City are perceptible and boundaries between districts are clear.In a legible environment, there is order to things, where people feel a sense of security and the City achieves a sense of place.
According to Lynch, the Image of the City can be defined with reference to physical forms conveniently classified to 5 types of elements namely: Paths, Edges, Districts, Nodes and Landmarks. Paths are the channels or the streets where people move. Along these paths, the other environmental elements are arranged and related. Edges are the barriers or boundaries of different areas or districts of the City. Districts are areas with common or shared identifying character. Nodes are strategic points where people can enter or depart. Landmarks are points of reference which may be either man-made or natural.
Coincidentally, in another book by Oscar Newman entitled, “Defensible Space”, the author contends that natural surveillance is necessary for residents to take control of their environment. Visibility is a prime factor in natural surveillance, where mere visual contact deters intruders and helps prevent crime. This concept may explain the prevalence of crime in visually deprived neighborhoods such as in barangay Kamagayan in Cebu. The blocked roads and intricate alleys have reduced visibility towards its interior areas and prevented natural surveillance. It is clear that the residents of Kamagayan have lost their ability to come together against criminality which, unabated, has grown increasingly rampant through the years.
Rama seeks meeting with P-Noy to stop flyover projects
9/25/2011
- Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama (4th from left with microphone) presides over the Regional Development Council in Central Visayas meeting on Friday in Dumaguete City. Lawyer Gloria Fatulan, Ma. Madelyn Escandor and Asst. Director Efren Carreon of the National Economic Development Authority, and Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo attended the meeting. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he would still seek a meeting with President Aquino about his objections to two new flyovers in the city.
He said he was confident the resolution passed on Friday by the Regional Development Council (RDC) – Central Visayas calling for a review of proposed flyover projects in Cebu City would call the attention of the national governmen but said the matter still needs the President’s intervention.
The two flyovers are sponsored by Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar, who wrote the President urging him to ignore local critics because the flyovers were needed to decongest traffic and that a P600 million in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was already available to start the project this year.
Mayor Rama also wrote Aquino but hasn’t received a reply from the President who is still in the United States.
“If the President will be aware (of our concerns) something will be done). I know the Office of the President is not aware about it,” he said.
He said no less than the President, not the DPWH, needs to be persuaded to stop it.
“The one who can really stop it is the one who will sign the notice to proceed. DPWH is not the one to be persuaded, They are just doing a ministerial role.”
The RDC 7 agreed to create a technical working group to review transportation studies in Cebu including the proposed flyover projects in intersections of M.J. Cuenco and General Maxilom Avenues and Gorordo and Archishop Reyes avenues.
Rama said the RDC composition which includes two governors – Gwen Garcia (Cebu) and Edgar Chatto (Bohol) – was “potent enough” to get the attention of a national agency.
Meanwhile, the council of barangay Luz has asked the Cebu City government to conduct a series of consultations with stakeholders about traffic congestion along Gov. Cuenco Avenue.
In an Aug. 6 resolution, the barangay said that until this is done, the city should prevent any new commercial developments especially the proposed Cuidad project which would increase vehicular volume.
Barangay captain Rian Tante said they acted after reading news reports the city planning office had issued a a locational clearance to Fifth Avenue Development Corp. for Ciudad.
The City Council referred the barangay Luz concerns to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which issued the environmental clearance certificate (ECC) for Ciudad. /By Edison A. delos Angeles, Correspondent with a report from Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac
Tom to build flyover at SRP access road
9/23/2011
by Correspondent Edison Delos Angeles
Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City south district) said he plans to support the construction of a flyover next year at the South Road Property (SRP) access road leading to the city’s downtown area.
“We have the money to finance that flyover and it will be realized next year,” said Osmeña.
That would mean another overpass in Cebu City aside from two new flyovers sponsored by Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar, which Osmeña supports amid objections from Mayor Michael Rama, traffic managers and a new citizens anti-flyover movement.
Osmeña also challenged Rama to widen an unfinished road leading to the bridge connecting Guadalupe and Lahug.
The bridge is an alternate route for motorists when M. Velez and Escario Streets are congested.
Mayor Rama just laughed at Osmeña’s plan to build another flyover at the Mambaling access road of the SRP.
Instead of spending on a flyover, he said Osmeña should prioritize the widening of SRP roads, which he described as accident prone.
“In the future, what’s important there is road widening,” he said.
Cebu City Council backs flyover projects
9/22/2011
Doris C. Bongcac, Chief of Reporters
- Cebu City Councilor Augustus Pe, Jr. (standing) approach fellow councilors (from left, front row) Jose Daluz III, Edgardo Labella, and Eduardo Rama Jr. in one of their sessions in this CDN file photo.
They aren’t the best remedy to traffic congestion but the Cebu City Council yesterday supported the two proposed flyover projects of Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar.
“Although the flyovers are not a complete solution to traffic congestion, the need for flyovers has already been proven by the current flyover, that has greatly lessened problems on traffic,” the council said in a resolution passed on mass motion.
The flyovers, worth P600 milion, are supposed to rise along the intersections of M.J. Cuenco and General Maxilom Avenues and Gorordo and Archbishop Reyes Avenues starting this year.
Del Mar, in a press statement, thanked the city legislators for “a clear, collective decision of the leaders whom the voters elected to represent their interest.”
Mayor Michael Rama said he stands by his decision to lobby for the widening of city streets and a traffic master plan instead of building more flyovers.
“But what the council did is good even if it’s different from my stand. Why would I argue with it?” he told reporters yesterday.
Del Mar said “traffic woes won’t entirely go away but will be reduce by a clutch of measures” that include flyovers, wider roads, strict traffic law enforcement, motorists’ discipline and reducing the number of vehicles.
Her father, former north district representative Raul del Mar, said the council’s support is a recognition of how flyovers can ease traffic problems.
“The city council knows how much hard work has gone unto the projects, given the practice of the central government to give the larger chunk of resources to Manila for its ever-growing infrastructure needs,” he said.
The elder Del Mar told reporters that the flyovers should not have to wait until all other traffic measures are studied and implemented.
The council resolution was sponsored by Councilors Noel Wenceslao, Augsutus Pe Jr. and Ritchie Osmeña.
It noted that “for the last two decades, a lot of business establishments are sprouting in the city, coupled with the influx of people from different places.”
Debate over flyover projects turning personal, Young says
9/21/2011
by Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac
Cebu City Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said he wanted to refrain from commenting on plans for two additional flyovers in the city because the opposition to the projects was becoming a personal crusade of some quarters.
“This has become an ego thing to some. You can see in their arguments that it’s not making sense. I don’t think it’s healthy anymore. I know they are hurt and I don’t want to add salt to the wound. There is a lot of misconception,” the vice mayor said.
While he favors putting up flyovers to address traffic congestion, he said he is not part of a signature campaign lobbying for it.
Meanwhile, the National Youth Commission (NYC) expressed support for a Road Revolution in various localities as a response to climate change.
The NYC supported moves to regulate the use of vehicles and revise road systems in urban areas to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions.
The Road Revolution, which was piloted in Cebu City last June 12 with a one-day road closure of Osmeña Boulevard, envisions giving priority to people rather than cars, and to allocate lanes for pedestrians, bikers, a mass transit system and green space.
Road Revolution supporters are also supporting the two-week-old Stop Cebu Flyover Movement as part of eco-friendly initiatives for a “liveable” Cebu City.
But Young said while he understands the grievances over the flyover projects, he wants to look at what’s best for majority of the Cebuanos.
Young said he expects flyovers to address traffic congestion. He said he didn’t need to sign a petition for it.
Young said he believes that the petition was started by the camp of former Rep. Raul de Mar, whose daughter Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar is pushing for the flyover projects.
Young said the elder Del Mar had mentioned the signature campaign to support construction of flyovers in the intersections of M. J. Cuenco and General Maxilom Avenues and Gorordo and Archbishop Reyes Avenues.
His daughter said P600 million in national government funds were available for the projects, which would go to waste if the flyovers are not built.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is against the two new flyovers and wrote President Aquino saying the priority should be road widening and a transportation master plan for Cebu City.
Young also disagreed with Rama’s contention that the timing of the signature campaign done in conjunction with a feeding program in barangay Kinasang-an, Cebu City, was “inappropriate.”
“I doubt if the people were told that this was for their attendance. They (the anti-flyover movers) are just trying to muddle the issue because their own signature campaign was defeated,” he said. /With Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus
Flyover ‘too noisy’ for nuns
9/18/2011
By Candeze R. Mongaya, Reporter
- Asilo dela Milagrosa Chapel in Gorordo Avenue, Cebu City. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Overpass would ‘disrupt’ ambience in Asilo dela Milagrosa church, say critics
“It would be more noisy and would ruin the solemnity and ambience of the place,” said Sister Leticia Deilio, the administrator during a public forum yesterday.
She spoke in a forum of the Stop Cebu Flyovers Movement held in a hall of the Asilo dela Milagrosa, where new concerns were raised by advocates of a “liveable” Cebu City about a proposed overpass to be built a few meters away.
Half of the garden, which has a grotto of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the frontage of the church grounds would be affected.
- A security guard of the Asilo dela Milagrosa shows the markings of the DPWH indicating how far the Gorordo flyover project will push the boundary line of the compound – 3.7 meters from the wall. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
About three meters of the area from the road along Gorordo Avenue could be taken by developers during construction of the flyover, said the administrator.
The new objections could be a telling factor in the debate over plans for two additional flyovers in Metro Cebu pushed by Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar of Cebu City’s north district, who said funds were already available in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to start construction this year to ease traffic congestion.
Similar plans in 2007 to build a flyover next to the Carmelite monastery in barangay Mabolo were suspended, primarily due to complaints of the nuns to then President Corazon Aquino that increased traffic would “disturb” the surroundings of the contemplative order.
The chapel of the Asilo dela Milgarosa, with its stained glass windows and garden plaza, is next to a charity house for orphans and senior citizens run by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, which marked its 75th founding anniversary two years back.
The chapel and some of its buildings, which were erected in the 1950s, is considered a local heritage site.
“They did not think about preserving the church. The beautiful garden would be destroyed,” said the administrator.
“We are dependent on donations. We won’t have any financial resources to repair that.”
The one-hectare property has an orphanage, which houses 67 wards and an administration building with eight sisters.
She said the devotees of the Asilo dela Milagrosa church would also be disrupted when praying during the construction and after the flyover will be completed.
In an open forum led by environment advocate Joel Lee of Cebu Permaculutre, residents and business owners along Gorordo Avenue voiced their opposition to the flyover projects worth P600 million to rise in the juncture of Gorordo Avenue and M.J. Cuenco Avenue.
Participants discussed alternatives to reduce traffic such as road widening, mass transportation, bike lanes and more pedestrian lanes, and the proper enforcement of traffic regulations.
“There should be a review of the alternatives that would be discussed in the community,” Lee said during the forum.
He said flyovers were only short-term answers to traffic woes.
He said Cebuanos deserve a more wholistic view of planning urban growth for a “sustainable” quality of life so people can enjoy fresh air and roads for walking and biking.
Cassy Catapang of the Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water (CUSW) said the construction of a rotunda or circular road to direct vehicular flow like the Fuente Osmeña could be adapted for Asilo.
The Gorordo Avenue where the flyover would be constructed has 13 traffic flows to Lahug, to the Pier area and to Ayala.
He said mass transportation like bus that would take the passengers from one point to another or a ferry from Lapu-Lapu to Mactan to lessen the vehicles that travel from Mactan to Mandaue to downtown Cebu is also possible.
Kevin Chua, president of the Cebu Bloggers Society, said traffic solutions presented by public officials should prioritize business activity and historical sites.
“The social interaction between people would diminish with a flyover because it would create a gap between people,” Chua said in the forum.
He said that if people spend more time in cars, they would have less interaction with other people unlike a community where residents walk in the streets.
Vanessa Laestander, a Cebuana who manages a travel agency and is based in Stockholm, Sweden, described the benefits of proper pedestrian and bike lanes so that biking and walking become part of the daily routine in Cebu.
“Here we want to walk, but we’re afraid to cross the roads because there are many vehicles and few pedestrian lanes,” Laestander said.
“Cebu City is a small city. It’s a walkable city,” she said.
She said she was saddened by the sight of small and congested roads in Cebu.
In Stockholm, Laestander said residents can afford cars but prefer to ride the bus and walk because it is more convenient and less expensive in fuel costs.
The voice of Persons with Disability (PWD) was also heard.
“We should also have the freedom to go where we want and live in a healthy environment,” said Nonoy Concha of the PWD Advocating for Rights and Empowerment (PARE).
He said that it’s difficult for PWDs to use sidewalks, which are often narrow, unevenly paved and blocked by many establishments.
Lawyer Gloria Estenzo Ramos of the Philippine Earth Justice Center (PEJC) emphasized the need for a sustainable city that is not dependent in fossil fuels.
She said flyovers would encourage using more vehicles, which would result in more carbon emissions in the atmosphere.
“We have all the legal basis to stop this project,” she said, because citizens as stakeholders are entitled to have public consultations.
Ramos cited Article XIII, Section 16 of the Philippine Constitution, which prescribes the right of people and their organizations to participate on the decision-making and would be facilitated by the law.
Architect Sarah Abadilla of the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) Cebu Chapter said architects should be allowed to contribute their expertise in decisions about the flyovers.
She said their group would submit a position paper seeking to take part in crafting a transport and land master plan for Metro Cebu.
“Only the urban planners and engineers are involved. We also wanted to offer what we have in creating the master plan,” she said.
“We don’t have sidewalks, which is basically the reason we don’t walk and would rather ride our cars,” she said.
Flyovers only work in a series
09/16/2011
LETTER - Engr. Pedro Adonis Compendio (spaces4719@yahoo.com.ph)
DURING the term of Cebu Gov. Lito Osmeña, I was involved in drafting the overall flyover master plan for Metro Cebu. We started with the Tabunok (Talisay) and the Mandaue projects for the original designs and completed both projects in 90 days.
It is a fact that a flyover is not the long-term solution to traffic. It will be effective only if installed in a series and rather useless if implemented singularly in one intersection over a series of intersections in an alignment.
That is why I disagree that the Banilad Talamban flyovers are not effective. They are more than effective because there are three of them along the Gov. Cuenco Avenue alignment. One more at M.L. Quezon Avenue would have been more effective. However, the rest, if not in a series is not that effective. Also, you have to consider that businesses at the foot and nearby areas of the flyover will be drastically affected.
Again, traffic problems should be addressed with a holistic approach. Solutions should be considered interrelatedly. Land use planning, traffic engineering, traffic enforcement and traffic signals, if not considered together, leads to results that are catastrophic.
I spent several years and used what I learned to put in a lot of work to help ease urban problems.
I have been frustrated, concerned and wary, that our officials have not really been proactive in addressing them. Nevertheless, I will always be there to contribute whatever I can for Cebu.
‘P600 million didn’t grow on trees’
9/16/2011
LETTER - Maria Clara E. Ricamora, Banawa, Cebu City
I THINK I can speak for the ordinary citizens who care and are concerned for Cebu.
We are tired of this flyover issue. We are tiredof corrupt, bickering politicians tearing our city apart. We are tired of Congress persons who push for self-serving projects, of mayors who refuse to defend themselves from the bullying of rivals.
We appreciate hard work, we appreciate projects, we truly appreciate congresswomen simply for running and representing, but we also appreciate ethics.
Alignment of funds should be done with ethics.
Securing the P600 million funding would be a great accomplishment for Rep. Cutie del Mar if she reverses and widens the roads first and generates a better master plan than the one made 33 years ago or the one from 1995 as claimed by this city’s former mayor.
It is all very simple. There’s that miracle of a budget, therefore, make use of to its maximum potential. After all, the government did not pluck them from trees. Rather, the taxpapers worked their asses off sacrificing basic needs just to be able to keep up with steep taxes compared to low the salaries in our country.
We are a poor country, a struggling economy, we are down there with Vietnam, India, Mongolia, Sudan and other poor nations. Why do we make a waste of more than half a billion pesos?
As I see it, the clamor of the public against the overpass contructions is deafening, and the more the Del Mar camp insists on this joke of a project, the clearer it is that it’s only for self-gain.
More funding for trips around the world perhaps? For a new mansion and luxury car? Reelection funding, maybe?
- This is the third in the network of flyover in Cebu City north district. (CDN FILE PHOTO)
RDC creates body to review ‘viability’ of new flyovers
9/16/2011
By Doris C. Bongcac and Edison A. Delos Angeles
But the review won’t stop the projects from being implemented, said Emmanuel Rabacal, chairman of the RDC Infrastructure Development Committee.
“It’s already a done deal,” Rabacal told Cebu Daily News.
He said that “legally there is nothing that we can do to stop the projects.”
But he said the results of the new technical working group (TWG), which the committee formed to look into the flyover proposals could be used by proponents for or against the projects.
Public debate has revived on the merits of adding two new flyovers along busy crossroads of of M. J. Cuenco and General Maxilom Avenues and along Archbishop Reyes and Gorordo Avenue, which will cost P600 million.
The committee, in a resolution, said it wanted to see how new flyovers would affect a Japan International Cooperation Fund (JICA) Master Plan for High Standard Highway Network Development, which was completed last year.
A second study, the Development of Public Transportation Strategic Plan for Metro Cebu, is being conducted by the Dept. of Transportation and Communication and is due to be finished next month.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, who is RDC-7 chairman, called for an emergency meeting of the IDC yesterday.
Rama is firmly against the two flyovers, and has asked President Aquino to set them aside in favor of road widening and the updating of a transportation master plan for Cebu City.
The DPWH made a presentation of its traffic study supporting the two flyovers in the north district of Rep. Cutie del Mar.
They said their locations were two of the most congested intersections in the city.
Pedro Herrera Jr., DPWH regional director, said flyovers “allow uninterrupted traffic flow in two directions.”
“If you ask if flyovers are needed, I would say yes,” said Herrera.
He said infrastructure projects are identified “not based on what people want but based on what the people of Cebu need.”
- Traffic on and along the Banilad flyover. (CDN FILE PHOTO)
Mayor Rama, citing the flyover along A.S. Fortuna Street and Gov. Cuenco Avenue in Banilad, said a flyover doesn’t necessarily solve traffic congestion.
“I don’t know who insisted on the project so we end up with having a flyover there,” said Rama.
He said road widening would be easier if roadside lot owners would agree to maintain a setback.
Rama said Augusto Go, owner of the University of Cebu, has already agreed to a setback for his building along Governor Cuenco Avenue in front of Gaisano Country Mall.
Columnist Bobit Avila, an RDC private sector representative, said road widening projects were already done in many sites of Cebu and Mandaue such as A. S. Fortuna Street, V. Rama Avenue and the New Imus Road as part of the Japan-funded Metro Cebu Development Project 1 and 2.
Mayor Rama said that implementation of the two flyover projects could still wait until a master plan is completed.
“It is not a reason to pursue implementation of the project just because we (RDC) approved its implementation. There are supervening events and we should be guided by the voice of the people,” he told the IDC.
Rama said that RDC should hear the sentiments of the people on the proposed flyover projects.
“There is a problem and we (RDC) must be the solution,” he said.
Efren Carreon, acting director of NEDA-7, said that the proposed Cebu City flyover projects are among 225 infrastructure projects, which the RDC-7 reviewed and approved from 2005 to 2010.
“There was no single opposition at that time, the reason why these were included in the Regional Development Investment Program (RDIP),” he said.
Carreon said the RDC focused on the project’s economic merits during their first review.
“But there is no harm in taking a second look. It is incumbent upon an agency of government to take a second look at the proposal,” he said.
He said that while the TWG study was in progress, project implementation should be put on hold.
“We do not have the mandate to make DPWH stop their work. They can be charged with dereliction of duty if they stop the project implementation,” said Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) general manager Nigel Paul Villarete who sits in the IDC as DOCT representative.
Rabacal said congressional projects like the proposed flyovers no longer need RDC endorsement.
Foreign funded projects, however, require RDC endorsement and a government guarantee
“In this case, na involve and RDC because DPWH listed the flyover projects as among their priority projects,” he said.
The IDC membership approved Carreon’s motion for a “review” of the flyovers without objection.
The TWG will have members from DPWH and DOCT, Avila, Citom, representatives of the cities of Mandaue and Lapu Lapu and private sector represenatives Fr. Mar Alingasa and Jose Mari Bigornia.
Villarete and Herrera begged off from joining the TWG. “My membership in the TWG may compromise our position if we are later asked to do a study on the (vaibility of the) matter (flyover projects),” Villarete told the IDC.
Herrera said he can’t join because the DPWH was implementing the flyovers.
Construction of the substructure, foundation, and posts was already bidded out by the DPWH Manila office.
Bidding for the superstructure or the flyover itself at a cost of P150 million will follow soon.
The remaining P100 million would be spent on acquiring road right of way. Funding for the Gorordo Avenue and Archbishop Reyes Avenye flyover will be made available next year.
Rama hits back, says Tom, solons should have backed widening
Rama said that while road widening is indeed costly, former mayor and now Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district along with former city lawmakers should have pursued it instead of lobbying for funds to finance more flyovers.
The mayor said this amid plans to meet with lot owners in the Banilad-Talamban road in preparation for the road-widening in their area.
“(I’ll ask them to) move back and their payment will come later,” he said.
Rama told reporters that he’s been consistent in his stand against flyovers and that his signature on a June 24 Regional Development Council resolution that approved a five-year investment plan, which includes the two flyovers, was “ministerial.”
He questioned why Osmeña, the council and Rep. Rachel del Mar of Cebu City’s north district pushed for the flyover projects just because there are funds to implement them.
“I cannot understand their logic. If they are serious in addressing traffic congestion, they could have worked on the plans and cost … (why wait for) road widening in the next 10 years? Why didn’t they prioritize road-widening?” he said.
Rama said he wants Cebu City to have wider roads, not more flyovers.
He said he will call President Benigno Aquino III’s chief of staff soon to check on his letter request to drop the planned flyover projects in the city.
“The bottom line is that the president listened. (And) I don’t know why the flyover propo nents are not listening. We don’t need flyovers now. What we need is to address flooding problems, something that they are not prioritizing,” Rama said.
Last Sunday, Osmeña chided Rama for insisting on road widening and crafting a master transportation plan.
He said the widening of Escario Street, which remains unfinished cost P15,000 to P20,000 per sq. meters for lot expropriation alone.
As mayor, Osmeña said it took him five years to convince 8,000 affected residents to move to allow the widening of the national highway along N. Bacalso Avenue and the new Imus Road.
He called on those opposed to the flyovers to be “realistic”. Del Mar also wrote President Aquino and pointed out that Rama himself signed his approval as the new RDC chairman. But Rama clarified that his approval of a 5-year development plan as RDC chairman was only “ministerial.”
“I have listened to the voice of the people in the same manner I was consistent with my views on flyover projects,” he said.
Rama said he is consistent in supporting heritage preservation, which includes preservation of the Asilo dela Milagrosa church.
He said the church would be blocked by the flyover project planned along Gorordo Avenue and Archbishop Reyes Avenue.
Rama said he prioritized drainage, flood control and road repair projects over the flyovers in a previous meeting with Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson.
In line with this, Rama said he asked Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes to work on the planned widening of Hernan Cortes Road in Mandaue, a key access road. Rama said he was confident of securing support especially from Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and Fifth Avenue Development Corp., developer of the P1-billion Cuidad project along Governor Cuenco Avenue on the proposed road set back.
“I don’t see why it is very difficult to implement road widening,” he said.
TRANSPO PLAN COSTLY TOMAS
09/12/2011
by Correspondent Edison delos Angeles and Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya
Former mayor backs flyover projects, says ‘it’s realistic’
- TWO VISIONS. Which scene do Cebuanos want? Top photo is a street design for Melbourn, Australia, which was adjudged the 2011 “Most Liveable City” in the World by urban planners. The slide was shown in a meeting of the “Stop Flyovers in Cebu” movement on Tuesday. Below is an illustration of the proposed flyover in M.J. Cuenco Avenue by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
That was how Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district described a proposal by Cebu City businessmen and Mayor Michael Rama to draft a transportation master plan and road-widening in place of two flyover projects lined up for bidding in the city this year.
The former mayor said road widening requires huge funding and years of implementation and cited as an example the widening of N. Bacalso Avenue in the south which took five years to negotiate with 8,000 affected residents.
The widening included V. Rama Avenue, B. Rodriguez St., Imus Road, P. del Rosario St., F. Cabahug St. and A. S. Fortuna.
He said acquisition of lots alone cost P15,000 to P20,000 per sq. meter for the widening of Escario Street which isn’t even complete.
“You want to widen the road all the way to Talamban? Both the national government and the city government will go bankrupt,” he said.
Two flyover projects are being readied for M.J. Cuenco-General Maxilom Avenue and Archbishop Reyes-Gorordo Avenue in the city.
Online support
A citizens movement called “Stop Cebu Flyovers” by “stakeholders in Gorordo Avenue” and ecology advocates led by Joel Lee of Permaculture Cebu are gathering signatures and mustering online support to stop implementation of the flyover projects.
The movement pushed for “sound, long-term planning geared for a sustainable and liveable Cebu City” through the drafting of a transportation master plan.
A resolution filed by the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) opposed the flyover projects.
In its resolution, the board said “it is not against flyovers as a whole, but only against flyovers without rationalization.”
They said traffic and transportation require “proper engineering and land use planning” and should be “above partisan politics.”
The board said the flyovers will pose new road hazards for motorists and pedestrians.
Citom chief Rafael Yap said a study done by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on the flyovers was “incomplete” and “flawed” since it didn’t consider the impact on other intersections.
More realistic
Yap said the data had insufficient basis to conclude that there’s a need to build new flyovers.
Mayor Rama wrote President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III asking him to reconsider funding of the two flyover projects.
He said Cebu City is a “heritage city filled with historical landmarks” which doesn’t need flyovers.
In response, Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar also wrote the President asking him to continue implementation of the projects.
In yesterday’s press conference, Osmeña said those who opposed the flyover projects should recognize the fact that they can be widened to four lanes in the next decade or as the need arises.
He said a more realistic, long term solution to Cebu City’s traffic problems is the implementation of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system here.
“They (those who oppose the flyover projects) are living in a world where they can only blame other people. But to get something done is very different,” he said.
Crab mentality
Osmeña said contrary to Rama’s claims, the city’s master plan was already done even before the South Reclamation Project (SRP) started in 1995.
He said the SRP and the south coastal road (SCR) are part of the city’s master plan.
The SCR was also placed in the south to bring traffic to the south and decongest the north district.
“What are they talking about? It’s built already (the master plan) while they were sleeping,” he said.
He said there is also no comparison between Davao and Cebu City since Davao does not even have an SRP.
The congressman also challenged Rama to substantiate his claims that the city doesn’t need flyover projects.
He said Rama couldn’t even identify what roads needed to be widened, what survey needs to be done, the assessment of the value of properties affected, program of works and traffic count among others.
“They don’t like flyovers but they did not prepare any plan. We did the plan. Do they have a plan? What is that? It’s all propaganda. (But) all he (Rama) says is that I don’t like it. That is crab mentality,” Osmeña said.
Osmeña said Rama opposed the flyover projects because he wanted to get the funds for his own projects.
“If you are the funder will you give P600 million because somebody says that widening is better than flyover? It does not work that way,” he said.
The former mayor pointed out that Rama even refused to widen a road leading to the Guadalupe bridge which in turn connects to barangay Lahug.
He said the area had not been passable for about a year now since it was hit by a landslide.
The last flyover project was opened in barangay Mambaling in April this year and back in 2008 in Banilad.
Protests by Banilad land owners, subdivisions and businessmen led by Bunny Pages failed to stop construction of the Banilad-Talamban flyover.
The Ban-Tal Traffic Task Force headed by Mayor Rama pushed for a Traffic Master Plan for Metro Cebu.
No study
An official of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7) admitted there was no study done on the Ban-Tal flyover.
Engineer Nonato Paylado, DPWH-7 assistant chief for planning and design division, said no post-construction study was done to determine if the Ban tal flyover reduced traffic congestion since it would entail high cost.
Paylado said they would rather focus their budget on other road development projects especially road widening.
“I don’t think that that the Ban-Tal flyover is useless,” he said, adding they received positive feedback despite opposition by businessmen.
He said they only conducted a traffic data study before the Ban-Tal flyover construction began.
Paylado said flyovers in Cebu City alone won’t solve traffic congestion if it isn’t complemented with good traffic management.
“We are obligated to address the needs of the public immediately. If we wait for the master plan, that would take a long time,” he said.
Citom pushes P600-M flyover funds for road widening
09/10/11
Correspondent Edison delos Angeles
Rafael Yap, Cebu City Integrated Traffic Operations (Citom) chief, said the two-lane Hernan Cortes road in Mandaue City could be used as an alternative road in place of Governor Cuenco Avenue once it is widened.
Yap said Reps. Rachel del Mar and Luigi Quisumbing of Cebu City’s north district and Cebu’s 6th district respectively could pool their pork barrel funds to widen Hernan Cortes road.
The Citom chief said their office is working on a traffic study on Gov. Cuenco Avenue, which they started in June, aimed at determining what interventions are needed to decongest traffic along the city’s northern corridor.
Yap said the traffic study was ordered by the City Council to evaluate the impact of traffic flow on the Cuidad project along the Banilad-Talamban corridor.
Yap said the Citom study included Salinas Drive and Archbishop Reyes Avenues, which lead to Gov. Cuenco Avenue.
He said the Citom study consists of a field survey, road measurements and travel time schedules.
Yap said initial results of their study showed that road widening is critical in addressing traffic congestion.
Citom passed last Thursday a resolution to oppose plans to build two new flyover projects in Cebu City.
Yap said a more comprehensive traffic study would include travel time data and assessment of traffic in nearby intersections among other factors.
Yap said a flyover along the intersection of M. J. Cuenco and General Maxilom Avenues would have been justified if the Sacred Heart for Boys school is still there.
The school already moved into its new campus in barangay Canduman in Mandaue City.
If the flyover projects push through, Yap said traffic lights should be installed to regulate vehicles coming from M.J. Cuenco Avenue and passing under the flyover project.
Copies of the Citom board resolution were furnished the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and President Benigno Aquino III.
Mandaue not keen on Plaridel flyover
Architect Florentino Nimor of the Mandaue City Planning and Development office said yesterday that the flyover was too near busy intersections, which could worsen traffic.
Nimor was referring to the proposed flyover along Ouano Avenue in barangay Centro and Plaridel Street in barangay Cambaro.
“Traffic just like drainage needs a macro and holistic approach,” Nimor said.
He said the national government project with an approved budget could still be stopped.
The first phase budget of P188 million has already been approved.
Nimor said projects of the national government still need the endorsement of the local government or City Council and have to undergo a public hearing.
He also said the situation in Mandaue City was different from that of Cebu City
He said it’s a case-to-case basis and that some flyovers are useful while others are not.
Two other proposed flyovers in Mandaue City will be built along the tri-level intersection of United Nations Avenue, and another one in M.C. Briones and A S Fortuna Street. The three flyovers will cost P1.7 billion.
Nimor said if the project won’t push through, its budget could still be re-aligned and used for other projects.
Nimor said the only solution for traffic along Plaridel Street would be to make an eight-lane coastal road and to reclaim about 130 hectares of land in the city going to barangay Nangka, Consolacion town in north Cebu. /Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos
CITOM rejects 2 flyovers
‘Wrong solution’ to Cebu City traffic; poses new hazards
“Hazardous” to pedestrians near the Collegio dela Inmaculada Concepcion.
Cebu City’s traffic management authority yesterday opposed national government plans for two new flyovers in the city in a resolution whose strong language left no doubt about the board’s dim view of building overpasses in two busy intersections of the north district.
- Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) Chairman Sylvan Jakosalem and CITOM Executive Officer Rafael Yap in one of their CITOM board meeting. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
“The proposed flyovers … will be the wrong solution to the wrong problem,” said the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) headed by chairman Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem.
Instead the Citom board said road widening, if done correctly, would do away with the need to build flyovers at all.
The resolution was carried unanimously in a Citom board meeting with copies to be sent to President Aquino carrying an appeal to shelve the flyovers based on technical merits because “it is above political issues.”
For the first time since public debate revived over new flyovers endorsed by Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar, Citom’s policy-making body raised specific technical objections to the rise of concrete flyovers in two locations—M.J. Cuenco-General Maxilom (Mango) Avenue and Archbishop Reyes-Gorordo Avenue.
Construction is expected to start late this year or early next year by the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for this national government project.
The Citom board yesterday said the “proposed flyovers will not only be extremely inefficient compared to their cost” of P600 million but their location also posed new road hazards for motorists and pedestrians.
A day earlier, Cebu Daily News reported that Congresswoman Del Mar wrote to President Aquino on Sept. 1 to present her side as a reaction “to the request of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to stop my projects.”
She said the sub-structures were already bidded out by the Dept. of Public Works and Highways and that “more people and groups support the two flyovers than those who oppose them.”
Del Mar said she was “looking forward to inviting the President” to the inauguration of the projects in her district next year.
A citizens movement called “Stop Cebu Flyovers” was launched this week by “stakeholders in Gorordo Avenue” and environment advocates led by Joel Lee of Permaculture Cebu, who said sound, long-term planning should be geared for a “sustainable and liveable” Cebu City. Signatures are being gathered aside from online support on Facebook to show that the sentiment is coming from a multisectoral base. (Read their manifesto in page 9.)
The last flyover was opened in barangay Mambaling in April this year and 2008 in Banilad. Protests by Banilad land owners, subdivisions and businessmen led by Bunny Pages failed to stop construction of the Banilad-Talamban flyover but the Ban-Tal Traffic Task Force, this time with Mayor Michael Rama, continues to press for a Traffic Master Plan for Metro Cebu.
Citom Board Resolution No. 2011-018 yesterday said the traffic body “reiterates its stand that it is not against flyovers as a whole, but only against flyovers without rationalization.”
It said traffic and transportation require “proper engineering and land use planning” and that “it is above political issues.”
The Citom board resolution tried to clear up two misconceptions—that the Cebu City traffic body supported construction of the two flyovers and that the Metro Cebu Land Use and Transportation Study (MCLUTS) done in the 1970s prescribed it.
“The MCLUTS study never endorsed flyovers as a solution whether long term or palliative,” said the resolution.
A P600-million budget is allocated in the DPWH infrastructure budget for the flyovers , which Congressman Del Mar said would go to waste if they are not spent for the projects. Half of this is for road widening of adjacent streets.
Citom executive committee members include Cebu City administrator Jose Marie Poblete, City Prosecutor Oscar Capacio, City Engineer Kenneth Enriquez, Assistant Regional Director Arnel Tancinco of the Land Transportation Office, president Michael Ralota of the Association of Barangay Captains, Chief Insp. Aureo Sanchez of the Cebu City Police Traffic Group, and three private sector representatives Jose Glenn Capanas, engineer Ramonicito Arquiza and Victoriano Yap Jr.
New hazards to motorists and pedestrian are posed if the two flyovers are erected, said the Citom board.
The design, for example, features a short distance of less than 200 meters from the foot of the flyover in Gen. Maxilom-Gorordo to the next intersection with a traffic signal.
This means all vehicles coming from Gen. Maxilom intersection will still queue for the stop light at the intersection of Escario-Gorordo.
Vehicles coming from the other direction will still queue on the traffic signal controlled intersection of Gen. Maxilom, which is 250 meters away from the foot of the flyover.
For pedestrians crossing to Colegio dela Inmaculada Concepcion, “it will be very hazardous” due to the uncontrolled movement of vehicles using the flyover.
The Citom resolution pointed out that DPWH-7 officials admitted during the Aug. 26, 2011, public information forum that its traffic study for the two proposed flyovers don’t take into consideration the traffic impact on adjacent intersections.
It “thus fails to fulfill even its primary purpose to ease alleged traffic congestion in those areas.”
The Ctiom board said DPWH-7 officials also admitted that both flyovers only address the second-largest volume of vehicles at that intersection.
“In sum, without road widening and the DPWH traffic study, both flyovers merely elevate traffic several meters up to avoid only one signalized intersection. It does not consider neighboring junctions which are also signalized or subject to conflicts in movement. “
The traffic body said that if road widening is pursued instead, traffic volume would be spread into other lanes and reduce waiting time at the intersection.
“The flyovers would be an unwanted appendage since road widening would, in fact, solve the issue of conflicts and travel time.”
“Hence, the proposed flyovers will not only be extremely inefficient compared to its cost but will also be the wrong solution to the wrong problem.”
On the issue that the P600-million budget would go to waste, Citom said, “The argument of DPWH that the money has already been secured and must be spent is a disservice to taxpayers who have a right to expect that their money will be spent correctly for projects that are beneficial and will promote, not hamper, development.”
“As the office in charge of traffic and transportation policy, we have a duty to object when public money is utilized for transportation infrastructure projects that are not beneficial to Cebu City in the short term or long term. Even palliative measures must contribute to easing a problem, not complicating it.“
The Citom board appealed to President Aquino to consider their opposition “in the hopes that our goal to make Cebu City a liveable City for all will be realized.”
Copies of the resolution will be sent to Cebu City Mayor Michael L. Rama, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio L. Singson and President Aquino.
‘DON’T DELAY MY FLYOVERS’
Del Mar invites President to inaugurate 2 projects next year
09/08/2011
Rep. Rachel Marguerite “Cutie” del Mar appealed to President Aquino in a letter not to put off “my projects” which Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, several businessmen and environment groups are trying to sideline in favor of a full Transportation Master Plan and road widening.
Rama earlier wrote the President opposing the additional two-lane flyovers, saying they were “not the ultimate solution to traffic congestion” and would damage Cebu City’s landscape as a “heritage city” rich in culture and history.
“I regret that Mayor Rama had to bother the President with this local issue which can be ably handled by the DPWH-7 regional director,’ said del Mar in her letter dated Sept. 1. The letter was received by Malacanang on Sept. 6.
“More people and groups support the two flyovers than those who oppose them,” she insisted.
Del Mar listed as her allies the Cebu City Council led by Vice Mayor Joy Young, two transport groups, an advisory council of past presidents of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and resolutions signed by barangay captains in 63 out of 80 barangays.
She said the sub-structure of the two flyovers “have already been bidded out” and a P600 million budget has been in the infrastructure program of the Dept. of Public Works and Highways for two years for the two proposed flyovers to rise in M.J. Cuenco Avenue – Gen. Maxilom Avenue and Gorordo Avenue – Archibishop Reyes Avenue.
Del Mar noted that “surprisingly” Mayor Rama even approved the two flyovers in a June 24 resolution as the new chairman of the Regional Development Council. The resolution he signed approved a 2011-2016 investment program for Central Visayas, which included the Cebu City flyovers.
The first-term legislator, whose father, former Rep. Raul del Mar was instrumental in securing the budget for other flyovers in Banilad (opened in 2008) and Archbishop Reyes Avenue, was confident the President would take pride in the new structures.
She said the two additional flyovers would be “the first in Cebu City under your administration” and would show that “Cebu has not been overlooked in your development program.
Cutie ended by saying she was “looking forward to inviting the President to the inauguration for the two flyovers next year.
Meanwhile, a copy of an Open Letter to the President opposing the flyovers was received yesterday by the Cebu City Council from Joel Lee, executive officer of Permaculture Cebu Initiatives.
He said that “stakeholders in Gorordo Avenue” opposed the flyover plans for being a “useless” response to traffic congestion in the long term.
“We want Cebu City to be a sustainable and liveable city,” said Lee.
“We believe that we are now in the POST WANG WANG ERA, andthat the voice of the people matter once more.”
Last Tuesday, a citizens movement called “Stop Flyovers in Cebu” was organized following a meeting called by Lee, an advocate for a sustainable environment and “green” living.
A Facebook account for the group was quickly set up to draw more supporters from Cebuanos.
Tuesday’s meeting at West Gorordo Hotel, owned by Lee’s family, was attended by homeowners, business owners, student leaders, a blogger’s association, NGOs, retirees, and university professors, among others.
Architect Manuel Canizares, businessman Bunny Pajes and Citom executive director Rafael Yap also spoke in the forum.
Canizares said traffic congestion was related to flagrant violations of the Cebu City Zoning Ordinance and National Building Code.
Yap of Citom said the baseline traffic data which DPWH showed for the new flyovers was “incomplete” and “flawed”. He agreed with Pajes that a Transportation Master Plan was needed so that infrastructure projects would be based on sound planning.
Pajes said several businessmen like him are pushing for the completion of the MCLUTS plan started in the 1970s, which could be finished in one year at a cost of P25 million.
The need to consult urban planners and experts to guide the growth of Cebu City was emphasized by architect Joy Martinez Onozawa, who showed slides of Melbourne, Australia which was globally recognized in a 2011 survey as the “most liveable city” in the world.
The city has well-planned boulevards, bike lanes, open space for gardens, and orderly traffic.
Onozawa said she was against the flyovers because the massive concrete structures make people “disconnected” with the community.
“People can’t see the sky, trees… there is no connection to the people below. Our city will be divided,” she said describing the experience of motorists, pedestrians and residents living near the flyovers.
The Open Letter to the President which Lee is circulating for more signatures expresses frustration over the lack of long-term planning for Cebu City.
“(Flyovers) will not really solve the traffic problem, but will surely aggravate it further, as evidenced by the flyovers already in place,” he wrote.
“ It may ease the problem for sometime, but we think, not for more than three years. However over the long term these will be rendered useless. Surely there are several better alternatives available.
“As Mayor Rama has stated: Cebu is a historic-cultural city, and building the flyover in the central areas of the city will erode significantly the value and remaining elegance of our heritage city. In fact, there are cities that are now demolishing their flyovers, why should we still insist on building flyovers?”
Flared intersections better traffic solution
LETTER - Dean Joseph Michael Espina, FUAP, MURP, MM-BM, University of San Carlos-College of Architecture and Fine Arts, former Land Use Planner, MCLUTS
- A flared intersection like this one at the Cebu Business Park is a cheaper alternative to decongest intersections in the city. (CDN PHOTO/ LITO TECSON)
THE Cebu experience with the Metro Cebu Land Use and Transport Study (MCLUTS) in the late 1970s was about the only thorough experience of metrowide planning in Cebu. It produced the widely acclaimed traffic light system (SCATS) in Cebu, the rational allocation and interconnection of roads such as the P. Del Rosario-Imus Extension and Juan Luna-Lahug Extension, extensive road widenings such as the V. Rama-M.J. Cuenco road widenings, and even the initial studies for the Mandaue, Cebu City South and Cordova Reclamation projects. It was a comprehensive planning approach on a metrowide scale.
Building flyovers was never a solution by MCLUTS planners to reduce traffic congestion. Flyovers by their very nature merely transport traffic in a progressive manner to the next intersection. Rather, flared intersections were designed such as those in Osmeña Blvd.-P. Del Rosario Extension. These are simpler, more economical, more efficient and environmentally more responsive.
Plans were under way by MCLUTS to have the planning body institutionalized in the early 1980s, but unfortunately, those plans were shelved. It is about time that we make planning a must in Metro Cebu. It should be of note that MCLUTS was headed by Dr. Primitivo Cal, a transportation planner educated in AIT and the UK and a Cebuano.
‘Dont waste P600 M on flyovers’
9/07/11
LETTER - Engineer Fortunato Sanchez (fortunatosanchez@yahoo.com)
THIS is in reply to engineer Paula Fernandez’s letter on Sept. 2 in Cebu Daily News asking how I got the estimate of P60-million-per-km cost of road widening. It was simply calculated from numerous press releases about the proposed widening of the 2.5-km Mahiga Bridge to Quezon Avenue at a cost of P150 million including right-of-way.
She said it should cost between P120 million to P300 million per km since the value of properties in the BanTal area cost between P20,000 to P50,000 per square meter. I am not privy to the Department of Public Works and Highways’ calculations and the prices paid to lot owners.
If there is a mistake, then DPWH should make the correction in the coming days to properly inform the public. Her estimate of the lot costs is a bit too high since the zonal value in the area is only about P20,000 per sqm. It is possible that owners may have agreed on a lower price. After all, after the widening, their lots will increase in value up to 50 percent.
Lot owners in 2007 wrote the mayor that they are willing to ask only P5,000 instead of P20,000 per sqm for the lots affected by the A.S. Fortuna flyover if an alternative will be built.
Her statement, “If all we can afford is a two-lane overpass (instead of 4-lane), then a two-lane overpass is better than nothing,” is disappointing coming from an engineer. P600 million is a huge sum of money indicating the we can afford the project. But we cannot afford to waste. What is better is undoubtedly the right solution. Engineering is defined by a dictionary as “the application of scientific principles to practical ends such as the design and operation of efficient and economical structures, machines.” DPWH did not consider other alternatives as shown in its PowerPoint presentation during the Aug. 26 flyover forum.
We engineers are bound by our profession to seek efficient and economical structures. I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to the estimated 500 civil engineers in Cebu to speak for or against the flyover. We are the only ones capable of reasonably dissecting the issue, of informing the public and of guiding our political leaders. If we don’t and the soundness of putting up these huge, visible and permanent structures is determined to be wrong, our profession will be mainly blamed and will be embarrassed. Not only in Cebu but throughout the world. Not only now but for many generations to come.
Citizens start ‘No to flyover’ movement
09/07/2011
by Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya
- Architect and urban planner Joy Martinez-Onozawa explains how all infrastructure projects should start with a sound plan and solid data. (CDN PHOTO/ JAY ROMMEL LABRA)
They say it’s a done deal. I disagree,” said architect and urban planner Joy Onozawa yesterday.
Her sentiment, shared by a mixed group of students, homeowners, NGO workers, ecology advocates, professors and business proprieters kicked off a multi-sectoral movement to demand “No to flyovers” in Cebu City.
The meeting hosted by Permaculture Cebu advocate and hotel owner Joel Lee included atcion plans to invite Rep. Cutie del Mar and the Dept. of Public and Highways to a public consultation to explain why two more flyovers will be built when, according to the group, this is would ruin Cebu City’s hopes to develop a “sustainable and liveable city”.
Meanwhile, another private sector group is pushing for the conduct of a transportation master plan for Cebu City.
The study would cost about P25 million and can be done within one year, said businessman Bunny Pages, member of the Banilad-Talamban (Bantal) Traffic Task Force, which staged opposition to the Bantal flyover in 2007.
He said the group would tap Dr. Primitivo C. Cal, a Cebuano urban planner based in Manila, who was one of the pioneers of the Metro Cebu Land Use and Transport Study (Mcluts) made 33 years ago.
Pages, who attended the coordination meeting at West Gorordo Hotel, said it was foolish to continue building flyovers in Cebu City without a well thought-out plan by experts.
Instead of spending P600 million to rush the construction of two new overpasses for vehicles, he asked why the DPWH can’t use a small portion of that for a master plan first and updating the Mcluts.
The P25 million cost estimate and timeframe was given by Cal, who has a doctorate in transportation planning and worked before with the Dept. of Transportation of Communication. He is an associate of Transport Traffic Planner Inc.
Cal was the same expert who made a preliminary study at the height of opposition to the Bantal flyover in 2007, and warned that the Bantal flyover woud be “90 percent” filled up with vehicles by the time the structure was finished.
Cal at the time recommended alternaties such as flared intersections and road widening.
Pages, who is in touch with the urban planner, said Cal agreed to update the Mcluts data and “complete” the master plan of Cebu City, including providing traffic data, possible alternate roads and other data that would serve as basis for future transport development programs in Cebu city.
“We need govenrment cooperation if the masterplan would push through,” he said.
Pages said he hopes to tap the City Council and other government agencies for funding.
In yesterday’s coordination meeting for a citizens movement, various representatives shared their observation that concrete flyovers just worsen traffic, add to air pollution, and spoiled the beauty of the city.
One female resident from uptown Cebu City said travel time from Fuente Osmena to Banilad in peak traffic was two hours, and had not improved with the Bantal flyover.
Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) Director Rafael Yap said the baseline data for the two proposed flyovers at the junctions of MJ Cuenco and Gorodo Avenue was incomplete and “flawed” based on what the DPWH presented.
Yap said that during the Aug. 26 public forum with the stakeholders and the DPWH-7, only the vehicle count data which passes through the junctions of MJ Cuenco and Gorordo Avenue were presented and not the total picture.
“ Their data is incomplete and we can’t make any conclusions from it,” Yap said.
Architect Onozawa said before an infrastructure project would be implemented, an integrated action plan should be set up by the implementing agency and the stakeholders.
This study would include city profile, consultations, action planning and trial pilot of the project.
“ The two lane flyover over a four lane road is ridiculous,” Onozawa said in the forum.
As an urban planner, Onozawa said that a transportation master plan should be made first to identify the modalities of transportation in Cebu city.
The economic status of the citizens specially those who will be affected by the project should also be considered, following urban design guidelines, possibilities of road widening and assess the pollution status in the environment.
She presented the Sustainable Cities Index, based from a non-government organization called “Forum for the Future, Action for a Sustainable World” which prescribes that an urban design should be the refernece of transportation projects.
“We have to ask what is their (DSWD) reference of urban design in Cebu, which takes into consideration the public domain,” she said.
Onozawa lamented that building flyovers would also lose the sense of connectivity by the people.
“ If we walk under it, we can’t see the trees and the skies,” she said.
Kevin Ray Chua of the Cebu Bloggers Society said that they would also gather signatures of university students to oppose the plan.
“This is not a traffic solution for Cebu city and for the future,” Chua said during the forum.
After the forum, the group converge to come up with an action plan for ways to halt the project.
One of the suggestions raised in the forum is to address the concern over the project to the Office of the President.
They also decided to review the law violated in the implementation of the project and create a coordinating body that would connect all the concenred stakeholders for a sustainable Cebu.
Mandaue officials back flyover projects
UNLIKE Cebu City officials, the Mandaue City government supports the construction of a new tri-section flyover, saying it can help decongest traffic.
City Administrator James Abadia told Cebu Daily News that vehicles headed to the northern and southern parts of Cebu pass through Mandaue and a flyover would ease vehicular flow in the city.
Abadia made the statement amid calls by Road Revolution proponents to Cebu officials to conduct public consultations first before implementing infrastructure projects in their area.
Abadia said the tri-section flyover project to be built along the United Nations (UN) Avenue towards Plaridel Street next year was approved by Mandaue City Mayor Cortes early this year.
In supporting the project, Abadia cited as an example the Banilad flyover built near Foodland.
“The traffic there before was very congested but now it’s okay,” he said.
“I’m not a traffic expert but the best possible solution is to consider the circumstances and area in building a flyover,” he said.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will start construction of three flyovers in Mandaue City next year.
Engineer Nelson Cabezas, DPWH officer in charge of planning and design, said the P300-million budget for the first phase of the two flyovers in Ouano Avenue to Plaridel Street and UN Avenue to Plaridel Street was approved.
“During peak hours the area there is very congested but if the flyover will be realized, the traffic will surely be decongested,” Cabezas said.
He said trucks could pass under the flyover.
Abadia admitted that the flyover from Ouano Avenue to Plarid el Street may worsen traffic since it’s near an intersection. He said Mayor Cortes ordered the City Engineering Office to conduct a study.’Reporters Candeze R. Mongaya and Jucell Marie P. Cuyos
Mandaue City flyover to decongest traffic
While Cebu City officials and businessmen are petitioning President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to cancel two flyover projects in their city, it’s a different story in neighboring Mandaue City.
Rep. Gabriel Luis Quisumbing of Cebu’s 6th district said the tri-level flyover that will rise in United Nations (UN) Avenue and Plaridel Cansaga Bay Bridge in the middle or end of next year will help decongest traffic in Mandaue City.
While Quisumbing and Mandaue City officials led by Mayor Jonas Cortes supported the tri-level flyover project, urban planners and Road Revolution proponents called on city and Metro Cebu residents to oppose the project.
“If we want to be an international destination we need to have world class roads. I pushed for the tri-level (flyover) at United Nations Avenue. We have to solve the traffic since the airport isn’t going anywhere,” Quisumbing told reporters yesterday.
Quisumbing said the UN Avenue intersection is the busiest intersection in Metro Cebu since it’s one of the access roads going to Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) and the mainland of Lapu-Lapu City.
The UN intersection is a traffic chokepoint and considered the most important intersection since it leads towards the northern part of Cebu.
Quisumbing cited Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo’s visit to Cebu to illustrate the severity of Metro Cebu’s traffic congestion.
He said it took Domingo two hours to reach a Cebu City Hotel from the airport due to a heavy downpour.
“That won’t be the case with the flyover since it will decongest traffic,” Quisumbing said.
The tri-level intersection costs P300 million and will be completed in 18 months.
The project was opposed by urban planners and Road Revolution proponents.
Urban planner and architect Joy Martinez-Onozawa said more flyovers in Metro Cebu won’t result in less traffic.
“Flyovers are the last resort, that’s why its proposal is rarely taken up on other countries,” Onozawa told Cebu Daily News over the phone.
She said building more flyovers in Metro Cebu would affect the aesthetic quality of the area and will make the roads “ugly.”
“Flyovers only worsen traffic. I hope they know what they’re doing,” Onozawa said.
Lawyer Tara Rama, one of the convenors of the Road Revolution Project, said Quisumbing should observe the procedural requirements of the Local Government Code which called for consultations and forum on the barangay level with the affected communities.
Rama said local officials should focus on creating a masterplan for roads in Mandaue so the solutions would be well-studied and used as a long term project.
“I hope the Mandauehanons will stand against it,” Rama said.
Both Onozawa and Rama supported movements in opposing the two flyover projects in Cebu City.
Instead of building flyovers, Onozawa suggested rehabilitation of roads to make it wider and additional pedestrian and bike lanes.
She said only five percent of the Cebuanos own cars which raises the need for more bike lanes to encourage residents to use bicycles, skates and skateboards for transportation.
The budget for the first phase of the tri-level intersection was approved by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and will be soon implemented by Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) national office.
The proposed tri-level flyover project in U.N. Avenue and Plaridel Cansaga Bay Bridge road in Mandaue City will feature three levels of roads.
The top level is a one-way, two-lane street for vehicles coming from the Mactan Cebu International Airport and leads to left of Plaridel Street towards Cebu City.
The second level is the surface intersection for vehicles from Plaridel Street and bound for the Cansaga bridge. Vehicles from Cansaga could turn right to Metro Gaisano Mandaue or left to Lapu-Lapu City.
The third level is an underpass for vehicles coming from Mandaue Gaisano and Plaridel Street going to Lapu-Lapu City. The area will still be passable when construction starts.
The tri-level flyover project was designed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) after a series of surveys and traffic counts.
The intersection was designed to accommodate traffic 10 years after the project is completed.
The project was endorsed by the Regional Development Council in Central Visayas. /Reporters Candeze R. Mongaya and Jucell Marie P. Cuyos
Rama to P-Noy: Stop two flyover projects
- Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama (CDN FILE PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is asking President Benigno Aquino III’s help to stop the implementation of flyover projects proposed to be constructed along the intersections of M.J. Cuenco and General Maxilom Avenue and Gorordo and Archbishop Reyes Avenue.
In his Sept. 2 letter, Rama brought to Aquino’s attention oppositions raised against the two new flyover projects proposed in Cebu City.
“Please be informed that this is not the ultimate solution to the traffic congestion in those areas. Our stand remains that widening or roads and opening of alternative roads are still the best option for the (traffic) problems,” said Rama’s letter.
Rama told Aquino that since Cebu City is a heritage city, rich in culture and historical landmarks, “this part of the country does not need those kind of infrastructure (flyover).”
Rama also said that flyovers would affect business operations in nearby areas.
He appealed to the President to consider their stand and make a thorough consultation to get the true sentiments of the Cebuanos.
Instead of the flyovers, Rama proposed that the city come up with a transportation master plan.
Planning and traffic experts shared Rama’s view.
Engineer Fortunato O. Sanchez Jr., a masters degree holder of Civil Engineering at Stanford University, said the City’s Traffic Master plan was already 33 years old and almost none of it had been changed since it was developed by a team of Filipino and Australian engineers.
Sanchez said the plan was only good for the years 1980 to 2000.
“In 1998, that master plan should have been modified but it never happened,” said Sanchez.
He proposed to create diversionary and alternative routes instead of building flyovers.
When asked why the city had no traffic master plan then, Rama, who was still a councilor in 1998, said he wasn’t the mayor then.
Architect Maria Lourdes ‘Joy’ Martinez Onozawa, sustainability Specialist Consultant and Environment Planner, said she was worried that the Department of Public Works and Highways had no management strategy plan and no enforcement strategies in its study to build the flyovers.
Onozawa cited LTO records which showed that only five percent of Cebuanos own cars.
“The only immediate relief of having a flyover is the absence of traffic light. Beyond the flyover there’s traffic again,” said Onozawa, who called for a study to address the needs of the majority of the people.
However, Vice Mayor Joy Young said the opposition against the flyovers were like empty bags.
He admitted that there’s a need to come up with a master plan but this wasn’t enough reason to stop the flyover project especially since these were funded by the national government.
“It’s not practical nga naa na ang kwarta unya mag huwat pa ta sa master plan,” said Young.
He said instead of opposing the flyovers, Rama should instead focus on updating the city’s existing master plan.
Young also called on flyover critics to instead support a signature campaign to oppose the implementation of the Ciudad project, which was expected to worsen traffic along the Banilad-Talamban (Bantal) corridor.
Bantal businessmen and residents initiated a signature campaign to oppose the Ciudad project.
“Will they sign the petition with us to hold the Cuidad project for the next 10 years and until the road is widened?” Young asked.
‘Widen roads for bicycles, people’
By Candeze R. Mongaya and Edison delos Angeles
- Environmental advocates (L-R) urban planner Joy Martinez-Onozawa lawyer Tara Rama, Vince Cinches of 350.org and architect Randy Su push for a dialogue with stakeholders prior to the implementation of the flyover projects (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
INSTEAD of adding flyovers, the government should focus on widening roads for pedestrian and bike lanes for Cebu City, said proponents of the Road Revolution project.
Architect Joy Martinez-Onozawa and Tara Rama of the Law of Nature Foundation said a public dialogue should be held about the announced construction of two new flyovers in Cebu City worth P600 milion, whose construction will start this year even as critics said the priority should be an updated traffic master plan.
“We just want proper studies to be made. We have to look at the bigger problem,” said Onozawa, an urban planner, in yesterday’s press conference.
She said building flyovers in the junctions of MJ Cuenco Avenue and Gorordo Street won’t reduce traffic congestion.
Only a small population of Cebuanos would benefit from flyovers since most don’t have cars.
Rama, meanwhile, said there were no consultations with the communities living in the areas where the flyovers will be built.
Rama said this violated the Local Government Code, which requires coordination of major projects with the local government unit and the affected communities.
Onozawa said the projects should be consulted on the barangay level.
“We trust them to govern, not to dictate,” Onozawa said.
Vince Cinches, 350.org country coordinator, said they would also organize a signature campaign to oppose the project.
If the signatures would reach more that 10,000, he said that they could submit a resolution to Cbeu City Council seeking the cancellation of the project.
Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar of Cebu City’s north district said the proposed flyover projects would not totally address but only minimize congestion in the city.
Del Mar said the national government already approved the release of P300-million funding for the two flyover projects.
Another P300 million is set aside for road right of way acquisition.
Mayor Michael Rama, the City Council together with business and residents in Gorordo Avenue wrote Del Mar to signify their opposition to the flyover projects.
“The issue is not the volume of traffic but rather the efficiency of the road. The project came too late. The proposed solution is no longer relevant to the needs of the city today,” the statement said.
They suggested the creation of a master plan for the entire transport system that would be the basis of all infrastructure project.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said it would need the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) to map traffic re-routing plans once the flyover projects commence implementation.
“We have to coordinate with Citom and if they give us a hard time, we will have a hard time finishing the flyovers,” Engr. Nicomedes Leonor, Cebu City engineering district head, told Cebu Daily News.
Citom chairman Sylvan Jakosalem said while traffic eased with the construction of two previous flyovers, he favors widening the road at the Talamban area since all the vehicles are funneled there.
“The DPWH promised to widen the road at the Talamban area to four lanes after the flyover in Banilad is built but up to now, there’s no word on the widening and here they are coming up with more flyovers?,” Jakosalem said.
Leonor said the M. J. Cuenco and Gen. Maxilom Avenue flyover is already open for bidding.
The P30 million appropriation for the project was released by the national government to DPWH.
About P60 million have been released by the national government for the two projects so far.
Mayor Rama said the two new flyover projects proposed by del Mar lack endorsement from Citom.
‘Flyover may cause accidents’
- CITOM Executive Officer Rafael Yap joins a forum against the implementation of the two flyovers in the city. (CDN PHOTO/ JAY ROMMEL LABRA)
Rafael Yap, City Traffic Operations Management executive director, said this would be impractical and would only create another problem— more accidents in the area.
Yap said vehicles that would use flyovers tend to overspeed.
“Instead of solving one problem (which is traffic), it will create another. It will only increase the incidence of accidents,” he said.
The Citom chief instead recommended that instead of constructing the flyover there, it would be better to use the existing traffic lights and a little adjustment on traffic enforcement to address the traffic problem in the area.
Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar of Cebu City’s north district said the proposed flyover projects would not totally address but only minimize congestion in the city.
Del Mar said the national government already approved the release of P300-million funding for the two flyover projects. Another P300 million is set aside for road right of way acquisition.
The M. J. Cuenco flyover will be 720 meters long while the Gorordo Avenue flyover is designed to be 520 meters long.
Engineer Lydia Dosado of DPWH-7’s planning and design division said her office conducted a traffic count to support the need for the two flyover projects.
Daily traffic volume of 8,939 motorists use the M.J. Cuenco and General Maxilom Avenue areas. Traffic was heaviest in part of General Maxilom Avenue leading to Fuente Osmeña.
DPWH also noted 8,693 vehicles using the portion of the new Imus Road toward Mandaue City.
Dosado said most of the road users were cars and public utility vehicles.
In the junction of Gorordo Avenue and Archbishop Reyes Avenue ed near the Asilo dela Milagrosa church, the daily traffic volume was 14,945 vehicles when DPWH conducted the study.
Another 9, 253 vehicles were using Archbishop Reyes Avenue on its way to JY Square in Lahug during their study period.
However, Dosado did not say when their study was done and what time of day was peak congestion.
This prompted Citom’s Yap to describe the traffic count as “flawed” and “incomplete.
Yap said there is also a difference between having a heavy volume of traffic on a certain road and traffic congestion.
Heavy traffic volume normally happens during peak hours.
Congestion results from vehicles that stop any time or make unnatural movements.
Yap said flooding is another cause of traffic congestion.
Engineer Leonor said DPWH was looking at other solutions, which include road widening, construction of underpasses and the establishment of LRT and BRT systems as among the possible traffic solutions for the city.
Engineer Nicomedes Leonor, head of the Cebu City engineering district, said the flyover projects planned along the junction of M.J. Cuenco and Gen. Maxilom Avenues and along Gorordo and Archbishop Reyes Avenues are the most affordable and the best available solutions to the traffic problem in the area.
Leonor said these projects were conceptualized more than a decade ago when traffic started to build up in Cebu City.
Why build flyovers first before a master plan?
Businessmen still questioned the need and practicality of adding two more massive flyovers at a cost of P600 million.
Their sentiments were aired in a public forum held by the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7) in Cebu City.
- Businessman Bunny Pages said a traffic masterplan should determine whether to set up a flyover in a specific route or not. (CDN FILE PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
“Why don’t we stop building flyovers and instead hire experts to look at the whole thing and draft a plan for the next 30 years?” said businessman Bunny Pages, a key figure in the lobby group called the Banilad-Talamban Traffic Task Force.
Mayor Michael Rama, task force leader, did not attend the forum, saying he already wrote to the DPWH secretary about his stand for an updated traffic master plan and road widening before new flyovers are put up.
Work on two new flyovers at the junction of M.J. Cuenco Avenue and General Maxilom Avenue and the junction of Gorordo Avenue and Archbishop Reyes Avenue are expected to start this year.
Pages said a master plan would spell out the type of interventions needed to address traffic congestion.
Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar admitted that flyovers would not fully resolve traffic congestion but said it can’t be denied that they have helped open the areas of vehicular and commuter flow.
Her father, former Rep. Raul del Mar, was instrumental in securing funding for the two new flyovers before his term ended last year.
With the flyovers, Del Mar said motorists can cross road intersections and save on travel cost.
Flyovers, road widening to start 2011 — Cutie
08/16/11
by Correspondent Edison Delos Angeles
- Proposed Gorordo Flyover
Plans for two new flyovers in Cebu City are the subject of a public hearing on Aug. 26.
Owners of adjoining areas and other stakeholders will be invited, said Rep. Rachel “Cutie” del Mar of Cebu City’s north district.
She also announced that she arranged for P150 million national funding for road-widening work in the traffic-clogged Banilad-Talamban road.
The flyovers, which will cost P600 million, “will start this yearm,” she said in press statement.
One is planned near the Asilo de Milagrosa at the intersection of Gorordo Avenue and Arch. Reyes Street while the other is near Carreta cemetery in the intersection of M.J. Cuenco Avenue and Gen. Maxilom Avenue intersection.
- Proposed M.J. Cuenco Avenue flyover
Opposition to the new flyovers is expected from Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and several businessmen.
Rama wrote the Secretary of the Dept. of Public Works and Highways last July objecting to the massive overpasses, which he said are “to the detriment of cheaper and effective alternative solutions” like road widening, flared intersections and other ideas. The mayor pushed for an updated Metro Cebu transport study.
The additional flyovers for Cebu City were approved during the term of Del Mar’s father Rep. Raul del Mar.
Cutie yesterday highlighted the Banilad-Talamban roadwork in infrastructure accomplishments for her first year in office.
She said a total P158 million is available for two separate projects to help the city cope with traffic congestion and flooding.
The funds are as follows:
* P150 million for the road widening and concreting of Gov. ManuelCuenco Avenue from Mahiga Bridge to the corner of Cabangcalan Quezon Street and Quezon Avenue, which will complement the existing Banilad flyover and help ease traffic congestion in the area;
(P100 million is allotted to acquire road-right-of-way and P50 million for drainage system, curbs and gutters, and sidewalks.)
* P7.960 million for improving the drainage system at Colon and Junquera Streets, major flood-prone areas in the city.
Funds for both projects, Del Mar said, are in addition to the P600 million funding for two more flyovers in the north district.
She said public works funds secured by her congressional office this year will total P1.182 billion.
That includes P378 million regular infrastructure for DPWH and the P46 million of her Priority Development Assistance fund (PDAF) or pork barrel, which sets aside P1 million for each of the 46 barangays in the north district.
Each of the two new flyovers has been allocated P300 million, with P150 million for the structure and P150 million for the road right-of-way and widening of streets on both sides.
Del Mar said she has requested DPWH Regional Director Pedro Herrera Jr. to schedule the public hearing on the plans and specifications of the two flyovers.
Flyovers won’t reduce city traffic, Citom says
08/02/11
Correspondent Edison A. Delos Angeles
- Even with a flyover along Gov. Cuenco Avenue in Banilad, traffic condition is still the same. The presence of a traffic enforcer did not help.
FLYOVERS don’t reduce traffic congestion as shown by the presence of the Governor Cuenco Avenue flyover, the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) said yesterday.
Citom Executive Director Rafael Yap said there are other alternative solutions to the city’s traffic problems other than building expensive flyovers.
“We are not against flyover per se. What we are asking for is rationalization in putting up a flyover,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Yap said the Banilad flyover built along Governor Cuenco Avenue and A. S. Fortuna Street was opposed by the Phil. Institute of Civil Engineers.
The group questioned the decision to built the two-lane flyover in a four-lane road.
“Why that solution? The civil engineers believe that there are other solutions that can be explored. I use that as primary reference for problems on flyovers,” Yap said.
He said the proposed flyover project along Doña Modesta Road in Sudlon Lahug is another project that should be reviewed.
“What is the basis for that? The road is narrow, yes. But how many vehicles can it accommodate in Modesta Road? It would be okay if they assign a traffic enforcer or put up a traffic light?” Yap said.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama earlier wrote public works secretary Rogelio Singson to register his opposition to a plan to put up P1.3-billion worth of flyover projects in the city.
Instead, Rama called for a transport master plan to be completed to “solve the horrendous traffic problem” in Cebu City.
Rama said flyover projects were budgeted without proper study from traffic experts. Yap said traffic “is not a political issue.”
“It is a mathematical, it is a social issue. It’s not something for us to casually decide that, okay we’ll build flyovers there. There should be rationalization and basis for deciding flyovers in that area,” he said.
He said the DPWH should not only plan flyovers for Cebu City but also consider long-term traCffic plans.
Land use and transportation are two parallel concerns, the Citom official said.
Mayor: Flyovers no, traffic master plan, yes
08/01/11
by Reporter Marian Z. Codilla
- Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama (CDN File Photo/ Tonee Despojo)
About P1.3 billion worth of flyover projects are planned for Cebu City, but Mayor Michael Rama will have none of it.
In a letter to Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson, Rama called for a transportation master plan to be completed instead to “solve the horrendous traffic problem” in Cebu City.
A flyover is being built in the junction of MJ Cuenco and General Maxilom Avenue with Gorordo and Archbishop Reyes Avenue scheduled for implementation within this year.
Rama said what is needed are alternative solutions to the traffic congestion in the city, not additional two-lane flyovers.
He said the projects were budgeted without proper study and traffic analysis from experts.
He was backed by the Banilad-Talamban Task Force, a group tasked to oversee, coordinate and ensure the viability of traffic-related projects and programs in the area.
Rama said the construction of flyovers not only aggravate traffic congestion but will also affect the business climate in the areas where these infrastructure are built.
“What is really needed is the road widening because flyovers does not solve the (traffic) problem. If we continue to construct flyovers, a lot of businesses will be affected,” Rama told Cebu Daily News.
In a separate interview, businessman Bunny Pages, a member of the Task Force, said a traffic masterplan should be done to avoid unnecessary government spending.
“The clamor is not to do so much until we plan,” Pages said.
About P50 million are set aside for the proposed flyover along General Maxilom and M.J. Cuenco Avenue with an additional P250 million set for the road right of way.
The flyover project along Gorordo Avenue and Archbishop Reyes Avenue will cost P160 million.
The two junctions are just a kilometer apart. They were planned in 1998 and included in the General Appropriations Act last year.
Pages told Cebu Daily News the existing traffic masterplan for Cebu City was made way back in 1978.
william Tan
February 1, 2012
If the people doesn’t want a flyover why would the governnent inisist on it. Let’s hear the people’s cry. Why insist that it’s the only good thing. Are they not bound to commit wrong decisions ? I believe on Pages comment that master plan first before flyover, once this is implemented we are stuck to it.
It’s also correct to say that it would be in series to be effective to make sure that traffic flow is continous.
Is the flyover the ONLY SOLUTION ! LET’S BE OPEN, DON’T CLOSE OUR MINDS. PRAY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR GUIDANCE.
Philip lim
April 16, 2012
I prefer road widening than putting up a flyover….and regardless of whose property will be affected by the widening of the road if it is for the good of the city then do it.