Rama eyes demolition of unused skywalks

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is planning to demolish some skywalks in the city that are found to have no use.

Rama got the idea from Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy during a news forum at the Marco Polo Plaza.

One of the topics discussed during the forum was the update of the proposed flyover projects in Cebu City that have been deferred because of the opposition of Rama and the Livable Cebu Movement.

Sitoy mistakenly reacted to the issue, apparently confusing himself between skywalks and flyovers.

Sitoy said that, he is perhaps the only mayor in Cebu, who asked for the demolition of a skywalk in Barangay Pilipog, Cordova for reason that it endangered the schoolchildren.

 “You give me an idea,” Rama told Sitoy at the forum.

Like Sitoy, Rama said some skywalks in Cebu City are not being used by pedestrians. He said that skywalks are also blocking the sidewalks.

Rama asked his allies in the Livable Cebu Movement to also look at the skywalks built in different areas in the city.

“That’s not for him to decide,” said former Cebu City north district Rep. Raul del Mar.

During his term as congressman, del Mar has been instrumental in putting up of the skywalks in the city mostly in front of the schools to ensure the safety of schoolchildren crossing the streets.

“I challenge him (Rama) to do that,” del Mar told The Freeman.

Del Mar disagreed with Rama that skywalks have no use saying that the objective was achieved when incidents of kids rammed by vehicles have been minimized.

He pointed out that Rama was part of the city government when the projects were implemented.—(FREEMAN)