Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 27) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday directed the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to ensure that families who will be displaced by the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project are properly compensated or relocated.
He said this during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Package 1 of the ₱16.3-billion project, which is expected to be partially operational by the fourth quarter of 2023 and fully operational by the second quarter of 2025.
“I want to remind the DOTr to ensure the just compensation of the property owners who will be affected by the CBRT project,” Marcos said. “I also urge you to find ways to properly relocate the affected informal settler families.”
According to the DOTr, the CBRT is the first mass transit system in Cebu City and the first bus rapid transit system in the country.
It will involve 13.18 kilometers of segregated lanes with 17 stations, one depot, and one trunk terminal from South Road Properties in the city’s south district to the IT park in the north district.
The DOTr said the CBRT is seen to accommodate around 60,000 passengers per day during its first year of operations. It is ultimately expected to cater to up to 160,000 commuters daily.
“I think that if we, in fact, start operations in December, that will be the best possible Christmas gift that we can give to Cebu,” Marcos said, as he called on authorities to see to it that the target timeline is followed.
Marcos also thanked transport and local officials involved in the project as well as the World Bank and the French Development Agency for providing loans to fund its construction “after more than a decade since it was first envisioned.”
“This has spanned years and across many administrations, and it is modelled after other BRT systems, such as the ones that we see in Seoul in South Korea, in Guangzhou in China, among others,” he added.
More housing units
Later that morning, the president also led the groundbreaking ceremony for the Cebu City South Coastal Urban Development Housing Project.
The government said the first phase of the project, which will be built at a 25-hectare area in Barangay Basak San Nicolas, will benefit 8,000 informal settler families and low-wage earners in the city.
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“Sisiguraduhin nating mananatiling abot-kaya ang buwanang hulog at bayad para sa mga bahay na ito, kaya patuloy ang ating pakikipag-ugnayan sa Kongreso upang maging matagumpay ang programang ito,” Marcos said.
[Translation: We will see to it that the monthly payments for these housing units will be affordable, and that’s why we continue to coordinate with Congress for the successful implementation of the program.]
The president earlier said he and Housing Secretary Jose Acuzar are studying the creation of a subsidy fund for the beneficiaries of the government’s housing program.
