For BRT to move forward: Mayor urges landowners’ compensation

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival is pressing for the payments to the remaining affected landowners, establishments, and households so the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit project can finally move forward, after years of paralysis caused by unresolved right-of-way disputes.

Archival met with members of the Regional Project Monitoring Team of the Regional Development Council–Central Visayas after their inspection of the CBRT project.

The discussions focused on the acquisition of road right-of-way, particularly along Vestil Road leading to the SRP.

This corridor was prioritized because it was the easiest to implement, with fewer landowners and government-owned property along SRP.

By contrast, the Bulacao–Talamban alignment remains the most problematic, requiring acquisition of 121 properties, 39 through negotiated sale and 82 via expropriation. Only eight lots have been paid for so far accordingly.

“Ang pinakadaku nga portion sa among discussion ang acquisition sa Road right of way… naa nay funds nga gidownload dinhi sa syudad… unahon nato ang Vestil,” Archival said, stressing that unless the city can pay the first half of the ?900 million allocation, the remaining tranche will not be released.

“Naa nay P900 million nga gi-allot ang national government ani, unya ang katunga ani, gi-download na sa syudad para makabayad ta sa kanang mga tawo nga tag-iya sa mga dan ug mga building..medyo nahinay ni because karon ato ng time, makabayad na unta ta, ang mga document is still on the name sa karaan or sa previous nga mayor….Karon giusab ang mga documents nga angay nato pagahimuon nga padong na sa present mayor para makabayad na sa mga tag-ya sa panimalay ug sa mga yuta nga angay natong bayran,” Archival said.

Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña has opposed the SRP-first approach, insisting that the original Bulacao-to-Talamban alignment must remain the priority.

He said that public transport should first serve residential communities in Mambaling, Basak, and Talamban rather than SRP’s malls and other establishments.

“The issue is not how fast. If we allow this to happen, the chances of pursuing the opening up of north and south Cebu are highly jeopardized,” Osmeña said earlier, pushing for shared lanes along Bulacao and Talamban that could proceed without new land acquisition.

The Commission on Audit’s 2025 annual report confirmed the scale of the problem.

Of the ?460.26 million released in 2017 for Phase 1, only ?46.55 million—or just 10.11 percent—was spent by 2025, leaving ?413.7 million idle for more than eight years.

COA detailed that land acquisition alone accounted for ?231.7 million in proposed cash flows, yet only ?30.5 million was disbursed, covering just eight lots.

Structures worth ?62.87 million, transaction costs of ?42.7 million, resettlement development costs of ?29.7 million, livelihood and capability development costs of ?5.9 million, and income restoration worth ?27.2 million all registered zero utilization.

Meanwhile, contingency funds amounting to ?16 million were fully spent, largely on payroll for job-order workers, appraisal services, and office supplies.

COA also flagged delays in demolishing skywalks, prolonged public consultations, election spending bans, and the failure to process transaction costs such as capital gains tax and transfer fees.

The audit noted that resettlement costs were excluded from the city’s responsibility, leaving informal settlers without relocation sites.

Livelihood restoration and income restoration likewise remained unimplemented, despite the project’s route being public knowledge.

The audit concluded that despite available funds, the project was “significantly delayed due to planning and operational inefficiencies,” citing lack of manpower, absence of clear timelines, and repeated alignment changes.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his fifth State of the Nation Address the other day, pointed to a legislative solution.

“Thanks to the recently enacted Accelerated and Reformed Right of Way Act, right of way issues are now more quickly resolved, removing the biggest chokepoint in our mass transit development program,” he said.

The Accelerated and Reformed Right-of-Way Act, Republic Act No. 12289, signed in 2025, amends the 2016 Right-of-Way Act to mandate prompt compensation, standardize valuation nationwide, and expand coverage to include private entities delivering public services.

By streamlining acquisition procedures and integrating provisions from the Public-Private Partnership Code, the ARROW Act aims to prevent the paralysis that has crippled projects like Cebu’s BRT.

The urgency is heightened by the World Bank’s withdrawal of $84.9 million in financing and cancellation of Civil Works Packages 2 and 3, leaving only the 2.38-kilometer Package 1 corridor between the Cebu South Bus Terminal and the Capitol to be completed before the loan expires in September 2026.

Future phases are now expected to proceed under a Public-Private Partnership framework.

For Cebu, the challenge is clear: unless right-of-way payments are hastened and COA’s

recommendations enforced, even the ARROW Act may not be enough to salvage a project that has already been delayed for more than a decade.

The fate of the CBRT now hinges on whether reforms and local action can finally break the gridlock between SRP’s “implementable” corridor and the more difficult but essential Bulacao–Talamban alignment. — (FREEMAN)