EDITORIAL - The ball is now with DENR

It’s good the long delayed public hearing on the proposed Ciudad project finally pushed through. And the Department of Environment and Natural Resources can now move on to tackle whether there’s enough ground for the project to be given environmental compliance certificate.

After two postponements, environment officials have finally heard testimonies from both sides during the public hearing last Friday. Those who opposed the project, led by Cebu City south district Representative Tomas Osmeña, stood firm on their usual argument that the project will only create huge traffic problem along Governor Mariano Cuenco Avenue.

Developers and proponents of the project, however, are one in assuring the public that the project will instead help solve the traffic problem through road openings within Ciudad. They also assured that they will prioritize Barangay Apas residents in hiring workers for the project.

Well, let us leave the matter of deciding the issue to the DENR. Whether environment officials found enough ground to eventually issue an ECC to the project, it’s their decision to make.

Yes, the ball is now at the DENR’s court. All eyes are now looking at how it determines the soundness of the project developer’s application for ECC. And we only hope that its officials will be guided by a good thinking in coming up with the right decision.

As we see it, however, the need to develop that piece of land in Barangay Apas far outweighs the arguments of those who make many excuses in order to derail its development. That land will never remain idle forever. It must be utilized in the name of development.

Traffic problem should never be an issue here. Look, traffic problem did not deter Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta from continue growing on a massive scale. In every development, there is always solution to the traffic problem.

What Osmeña and those who opposed the Ciudad project failed to realize is that it is the city residents, especially those Apas folk, who will mainly benefit from its development. They should also consider the millions of revenues that the city government will generate once Ciudad starts to operate.