A glimpse of the Cebu Provincial Capitol amidst the construction of a bus station for the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project along Osmeña Boulevard. CDN Digital File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project is facing delays, and the mayor’s new plans might make it take even longer.
Mayor Michael Rama wants to remove the planned bus station near the Capitol building because it doesn’t fit with the area’s heritage. He plans to replace it with a new station, designed differently.
“We are already very clear that with respect to the CBRT… We will be removing the structure in front of the Capitol and hopefully putting an earmark of still a station, but the design has to be different, not too imposing to preserve the heritage value,” Rama stated during a press conference on Friday, April 19.
READ: Rama asks Malacañang to suspend Gwen over CBRT dispute
Rama talked about his plan with Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista on April 18.
It seems he changed his mind about suing the Governor Gwendolyn Garcia over the bus station issue, especially now that he’s announced plans to preserve heritage values through redevelopment.
READ: Gwen orders to halt Cebu BRT construction in heritage buffer zones
It can be recalled that Provincial Governor Gwendolyn Garcia ordered proponents of the CBRT to halt civil works near Fuente Osmeña and the Capitol building for heritage protection purposes.
It can be recalled that Garcia stopped construction work near Fuente Osmeña and the Capitol building to protect the Capitol Building, which is a declared heritage site.
She sent a memorandum to the CBRT team and the contractor, Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Ltd., telling them to stop work on province-owned land along Osmeña Boulevard.
Rama even asked for Garcia to be suspended over CBRT issues. He filed a criminal and administrative complaint before the Office of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. against her.
He claimed the governor overstepped her authority by stopping the project, which he argues is under the city’s control, not the province’s. Cebu City operates independently from the provincial government. /clorenciana
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