Tomas wants Villarete to stay with BRT project

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu City south district Representative Tomas Osmeña wants newly installed Mactan Cebu International Airport General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete to remain on top of the Bus Rapid Transit project of the city government even if he is no longer the city's planning and development head.

Osmeña explains that the realization of the BRT that they have been pursuing for more than a decade already needs continuity otherwise all their efforts might go to waste.

Osmeña has no objections to Mayor Michael Rama's appointment of Nestor Archival around to take charge of the project but he said Villarete is most capable because of his familiarity with the system.

"BRT needs continuity. You cannot just finish it just like that because it requires several disciplines, you have to understand the system itself," Osmeña said.

Villarete said helping the city with the BRT will not take much of his time and will not in any way compromise his new job.

"These are things that do not require time and physical effort. It's all in the mind. These are planning thing, coordinating thing. And I don't need any position to help, I don't think the city can hire me under the civil service rules. What we need is help, contribution, coordination," Villarete said.

Osmeña said that Villarete's appointment is a challenge to the latter especially on how to make the airport better in terms of infrastructure and facilities and systems management.

"The Airport has been used as a milking cow. They cannot even finish the administration building and there are too many employees. They make you pay P200 terminal fee if you want to fly domestic and P500 if you want to fly international yet they don't give you even a glass of water? And it's dirty. Much can be done to the airport," Osmeña said. (FREEMAN)