CEBU, Philippines - Transport groups in Cebu expressed different views about the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system of the Cebu City government.
Militant transport group Nagkahiusang Drayber sa Sugbo said that they are against the proposed BRT as it does not provide alternative solution, in case that jeepney drivers and small-time operators will be displaced because of the said project.
NADSU president Roy Opura said that the city government is not sincere and they doubt if the city would include the solution in case they will be displaced.
Opura said that once the BRT will be implemented, many jeepney drivers and small-time operators will lose their means of livelihood.
“Bitaw”, was the only statement made by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña amidst the fear raised by some jeepney drivers that they will lose their income due to the BRT implementation.
“Dili mi supak sa kalambuan sa ciudad basta kakuyog mi sa paglambo kaming mga drivers ug operators,” Opura said.
On the other hand, Ryan Benjamin Yu, chairman of Cebu Integrated Transport Services and Cooperative said that they are not really against the BRT considering that the city government has assured them that there is an alternative livelihood for those who will be affected by the project.
“We have no objection on the project. But I am hoping support from the city government to those who will be affected,” Yu added.
Yu, who is also the chairman of Cebu Confederation of Transport Operators and Drivers Association Inc. (CCTODAI), the umbrella organization of transport groups in Cebu, will make a united stand soon about the project.
CCTODAI’s member organizations include CITRASCO, the Alyansa sa Nagkahiusang Drayber-Operator Alang sa Reporma (ANDAR), Southern Cebu Operators and Drivers Association Inc. (SCODAI), Visayan United Drivers Transport Services Cooperative (VUDTRASCO), Metro Cebu Taxi Operators Association (MCTOA), Cebu Provincial Bus Operators (CPBOA) and the Cebu Truckers Association Inc. (CTAI).
Regional director Romulo Bernardes of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said that he endorsed favorably the BRT since he assumed office since last year.
Bernardes said that there will be no displacement of jeepney drivers because there are still intra city routes and inter city routes that will not be affected by the BRT project.
No less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has already given a go signal for the BRT project to proceed last March. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/NLQ