For CBRT-affected residents: Hold payments - CLO

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Legal Office has advised the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) Project Management Office (PMO) to hold off on payments to residents affected by the project pending the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) official position on the City Council’s rejection of the proposed route realignment to include the South Road Properties (SRP).

The recommendation also came amid Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s plan to file a complaint with the Ombudsman questioning the acquisition of properties for the project.

City Legal Officer Atty. Feliciano M. Alinson Jr. clarified that while the Cebu City Council has passed resolutions rejecting the CBRT realignment, these measures do not have binding authority over the national government.

Resolution No. 17-3273-2026, passed on April 14, 2026, called on the Office of the President and the World Bank to review the realignment and restore the original Bulacao-to-Talamban route.

Meanwhile, Resolution No. 17-4338-2026, passed on July 3, 2026, rejected the proposed SM Seaside-Ayala alignment and urged the DOTr to preserve the integrity of the original project design.

“The authority to determine the alignment and implementation of the CBRT Project belongs to the DOTr, subject to compliance with law and applicable funding conditions,” the opinion stated.

The legal office, however, stressed that property owners’ rights to compensation remain intact.

“The resolution does not by itself extinguish an affected person’s right to just compensation merely because the Council rejected the proposed realignment.”

It recommended that the CBRT-PMO formally coordinate with the DOTr and, in the meantime, “hold in abeyance the processing of such payments.”

City Attorney Briccio Joseph C. Boholst approved the legal opinion but included a disclaimer.

“Our legal opinion is merely recommendatory and should not be treated by the requesting party as the final decision.”

City Councilor Winston Pepito, chair of the transportation committee, initially moved to request the CBRT-PMO to submit a report on project-affected persons at F. Vestil Street in Barangay Mambaling, including their number, the status of property acquisition and payments, the funding source, and any communication with the DOTr in line with the City Legal Office’s opinion.

Temporary presiding officer Councilor Phillip Zafra acknowledged the motion, but Osmeña objected.

“Mr. Chairman, I’d like the body to be aware that I will be filing a case in Ombudsman on the purchase of this property,” Osmena said during the regular session.

Osmeña questioned the property’s valuation, citing its reported cost of ?80,000 per square meter, or about ?200 million.

“This property is—the money has been deposited by the DOTr with Cebu City. It has been questioned under the previous administration, and rightfully so. It’s too expensive,” he said.

“This money is not to replace land. It’s to replace those who are dislocated. And we’re going to spend by commercial property to relocate?” he added.

Osmeña also alleged that the property owner has close links to City Hall but did not identify the owner.

“The owner of the property has very close links to City Hall… and other transactions involving hundreds of millions of pesos: our security system, purchase of food and snacks, and now we have this land,” Osmena said.

Osmeña asked the City Council to give him at least two weeks to file the case.

“Give me two weeks, and I will file the case, and you will be able to see why we should do something about this. This money can better be used to buy right-of-way going to Talamban or to Pardo instead of connecting SM to Ayala,” Osmeña stressed.

Following a recess, Pepito withdrew his motion to refer the matter to the CBRT-PMO.

Councilor Mikel Rama then moved to adopt the City Legal Office’s recommendation to hold the payments in abeyance. Osmeña agreed, along with the other members of the City Council. — /FPL (FREEMAN)