Widen Salinas Drive on both ends of the road

Didn't we tell you in so many columns before that it was time for Filipinos to get rid of the pork barrel? The Inquirer headline screamed that Senate Pres. Juan Ponce Enrile gave 18 Senators P1.6 Million each for Christmas. The first question to come to my mind is… did this money come from his personal pocket or was it part and parcel of his P200 Million pork barrel that each senator would get annually without paying income tax and with nothing to report to the Commission on Audit (COA)?

If political dynasties exist today, it is due to the existence of the pork barrel that we got from the United States of America. It is embodied in the 1935 Constitution and down to the 1987 Constitution. But if we need real and genuine change in our political system… it's about time we got rid of the pork barrel as it has only enriched our politicians, while most Filipinos remain poor. Or is it time for us to get rid of these kind of politicians?

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Finally… someone is truly thinking of the welfare of our working people! I'm referring to that SunStar report headlined, "Sidewalk on the stretch of Salinas Drive to be restored, says Mayor." I honestly did not realize that years ago, when finally it was decided to link the end of Salinas Drive, passing through the old Lahug Airport runway, nobody ever thought that Salinas Drive would become a main thoroughfare. But now that the AsiaTown I.T. Park has become one of Cebu's stunning successful realty developments, it is now the center for Cebu's Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industry where thousands of people work in call centers.

I have always noticed that short stretch along Salinas Drive where the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is located, and the squatters along the roadside that force people working in the IT Park to walk dangerously along the road. The majority of our people and many of them are taxpayers should not be sacrificed by TESDA and those squatters who do not pay their taxes at all!

While the plan of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is commendable, however he says that this would happen by the end of 2013. Why should it take so long for this project to materialize? If the group called the Beautiful Cebu Movement (BCM) will be tasked to handle this project, I dare say that they should do it as soon as possible! This means, if we need to widen the sidewalk in that area, they should not limit themselves with the 3 meter easement allowed by the National Building Code (NBC) that in my book is already outdated. It should be at least 10-meters wide.  

While we're looking at widening the sidewalk of Salinas Drive… on the other end of this road, near the Aderan Hotel, the sidewalk has totally vanished…taken over by unscrupulous sidewalk vendors who believe that we owe them a living! I dare say that this road should also be widened so that the residents living in that area can finally pass along Salinas Drive with ease. Right now they are forced to make a detour.

But no road or sidewalk widening of Salinas Drive should be effected unless we widen that part of Gorordo Avenue along the Doña Modesta Drive leading to Beverly Hills. If you're driving along the University of the Philippines (UP-Lahug), it is one of the widest roads in Cebu City. But just a couple of hundred meters away… the road starts to narrow…thanks to people who grab the sidewalk and make it as their own. If the traffic is bad from Salinas Drive to Beverly Hills… it is due to this very narrow roadway and may I suggest that Mayor Rama ask the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to widen that road. Actually, it is wrong to say that this road needs to be widened as it is already wide enough. What the DPWH ought to do is restore the original width of this road by removing all those illegal structures that has caused the road to become so narrow. As what Mayor Mike would say, “Tarongon nato and hiwi!”

Finally, let's go back to the article we wrote a couple of days ago for the need to construct a flyover along the highway in Minglanilla. A long time ago, I already talked about this problem with Rep. Eddie Gullas who agreed with me that either we put up a flyover there or reroute the traffic along a bypass road…if they find such a bypass road. In most places that we travel… especially along Luzon or Mindanao, bypass roads have become common where people who do not want to drop by a municipality like Minglanilla would not be hassled by the daily traffic jams.

So hopefully this year, the Regional Development Council's (RDC-7) Infrastructure Development Committee (IDC) headed by our good friend Emmanuel “Manny” Rabacal would put a priority to a flyover in Minglanilla because like it or not… it is the only way to get rid of the traffic jam there.

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