Gullas: No LRT without Cebu City cooperation

CEBU, Philippines - It may probably be a dead end for the proposed Light Rail Transit following Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s rejection of the proposal, said Cebu 1st district Rep. Eduardo Gullas.

Gullas said that there is no way the LRT will be completed without the city’s cooperation since it is the center of Metro Cebu.

“Unsaon man na kung inig-abot sa Bulacao and Pardo which is the boundary of Talisay and Cebu City, molupad diay ang LRT going to Subangdaku which is the boundary of Mandaue and Cebu City?” Gullas said.

Gullas clarified that he is not withdrawing his endorsement because in the first place, it is council of the local government units concerned that must endorse it.

He appealed to other LGUs comprising the Metro Cebu to continue supporting the idea saying it will benefit not only the Cebu City but the whole island by making different places within the island more accessible.

He said he has done his part and has proven how serious and eager he is to develop Cebu in the area of transportation.

Since 1996 Gullas has been pushing for the LRT in Cebu when he passed House bill 7479 proposing the railway project. In 2007, he again filed HB 310 which seeks the establishment of a Cebu LRT system.

Gullas is open for a dialogue with Osmeña to discuss the LRT since he was not given the chance to talk with the mayor during the presentation of the LRT proposal.

“None of us, not even the DOTC (Department of Transportation and Communications), Congressman Pablo John and (Cebu City north district Rep. Raul) del Mar was able to talk with him since he left shortly after he arrived,” Gullas said.

“I am hoping to speak with him and express my views but I think, since ila naman gi-announce na di gyud sila, what dialogue can be done?” he added.

He added that Osmeña must realize that traffic in the city is getting heavier as it continues to progress and the LRT will be there to solve the problem.

Gullas hoped that other LGUs will support the project with the kind of thinking that it is not only for their own town’s interest but for the interest of the general public. – Jessica Ann R. Pareja/BRP (THE FREEMAN)