Public uses only 4 Cebu City skywalks

The government wasted millions of pesos in public funds in the construction of skywalks supposedly to minimize the traffic problem in the city, said Traffic Operations and Management executive officer Arnel Tancinco.

This after Tancinco learned that only four out of the 14 skywalks constructed in different parts of the city were used by the public while the rest were turned into shelters of vagrants and dating places of lovers during nighttime.

"Ang mga skywalks nga gigamit kana ra g'yod nga anaa duol sa usa ka mall sa Banilad, sa Cebu Institute of Technology ug ang laing duha nga anaa sa Fuente Osmeña," Tancinco told The Freeman.

The funds used to construct the skywalks came from the Priority Development Assistance Funds of city Reps. Raul del Mar and Antonio Cuenco.

To compel the public into using the skywalks, a proposal to amend the ordinance that prohibits jaywalking is now pending at the City Council. The ordinance carries a P200 fine for violators.

The proposed ordinance provides that Citom members and barangay tanods who refused to apprehend jaywalkers would also be penalized.

Elderly persons had appealed to the council to be allowed to pass under the skywalk. "Maglisod na mi pagsaka sa taas kaayong hagdan," a senior citizen said.

The government had spent close to P2 million for every skywalk built in the city. - Rene U. Borromeo