Residents still complain vs. road widening

CEBU, Philippines - With still so many complaints from the affected residents, the proposed road widening project in MJ Cuenco Avenue may yet take another setback.

But former Cebu City North District Rep. Raul del Mar is not worried at all, as they are willing to give way to the request of the residents.

“We’re doing anything possible to address their concerns. This is already beyond consultation. We are trying to accommodate (their requests),” del Mar said in an interview with the media during the public consultation in barangay Mabolo.

After receiving complaints from residents, Del Mar asked the Department of Public Works and Highways to conduct a series of consultations with them. Yesterday was reportedly the fourth dialogue with the residents that del Mar and the DPWH conducted.

And since many is not in favor of giving up two to five meters off their properties, the former congressman said he had to ask the DPWH to reduce the road width from the ideal 20 meters to 17 meters, subsequently resulting to the cutting down of the pedestrian lane from 2 meters to one meter on both sides.

This may apply to areas, like along the highway of barangay Mabolo, where there are “hardly any people passing,” he said, adding that if this happens, several houses will be saved from destruction.

Juanita Laput’s house in barangay Hipodromo is among those 366 structures deemed affected by the project. Laput, whose family has been in the area even before the World War II, is worried that if the DPWH survey will be followed, 4.74 meters of their property will be used. If this happens, the three commercial stalls, which are their source of income, will be affected.

She said that if this will be implemented, she wished that the DPWH would also do the same in the opposite area.

Alain Po also shared Laput’s sentiments, saying that he does not think a road expansion is “necessary.” He said if the government is so concerned about the traffic, it only happens during rush hour. Po said if the city will make changes to the area, it should not be a waste of the taxpayers’ money like road widening.

Po’s family owns a residential apartment in Mabolo and he fears that the project will eat up at least 2.1 meters of their property including a portion of their apartment building.

Del Mar, for his part, reasoned that “the people,” even the barangay captains and Mayor Michael Rama himself have been asking to expand the said road. This is to “lessen the traffic” in the area, he added.

Meanwhile, Nicomedes Leonor, DPWH Cebu City engineering district, assured the affected residents that they are willing to pay based on the appraised value of their affected properties. He said they should only prepare their papers and there would be no problem with the payment.

But if in case they would still be adamant, Leonor informed the residents that the government can invoke the right of imminent domain, but he stressed that they would not want to go that far. (FREEMAN)