Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma yesterday said most of the Cebu clergy favor having a transport master plan in place before building more flyovers.
“There should first be an overall plan for the city before more flyovers are made,” Palma told reporters after his mass in the mausoleum of Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral.
“We are not completely against flyovers. Perhaps in certain cases, they can be solutions,” Palma said.
The flyover controversy was discussed by different batches of diocesan priests during their retreat with Palma last month.
Palma, who earlier urged the clergy to take a stand for the good of Cebu, said that most of the priests objected to the rise of flyovers before a master plan.
“Basically their idea is first of all, the present flyover should be stopped. It should be part of an over-all master plan,” Palma said.
Palma said he sees the construction of two flyovers as being “immediately imagined” without a master plan.
“Our priests share the same stand,” Palma said.
The Movement for a Liveable Cebu (MLC) inlcuding the nuns from the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in the Asilo dela Milagrosa met with Palma last September to seek his guidance.
Business leaders also met with Palma last week about their commitment to draft a master plan for a “Mega Cebu” that would guide growth beyond the politcal boundaries of 13 towns and cities, including Cebu City.
Other than statements in press interviews, Palma has not issued an official position of the Cebu Archdiocese yet.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal called for public dialogue and urged the proponents to “ listen to the people”
“There must be transparency. If its for the common good, and they are representatives of the people. They represent us, then they have to listen to us,” Vidal told reporters in the mausoleum yesterday.