Will RDC-7 withdraw support for his flyovers?

The battle isn’t over for the main champion of flyovers in Cebu City.

Raul del Mar showed up unannounced in yesterday’s meeting of a committee that is set to recommend a “moratorium” on flyovers in Metro Cebu

“What are you trying to withdraw really? I think this is a very dangerous direction,” said the former congressman.

“The Regional Development Council has never withdrawn previous approvals of their approved projects before.”

Del Mar’s indignant remarks interrupted a discussion of the results of a study by an RDC technical working group (TWG), which came up with 10 observations that cast serious doubt on the need and rationale for building flyovers in urban Cebu.

Del Mar had a heated discussion with Fr. Mar Alingasa, a TWG member, who said the projects were under fire because of “lack of transparency” in their implementation.

Another meeting was set for Nov. 22.

The TWG said flyover projects lacked feasibility studies, public consultation and proper coordination among government agencies.

Moreover, flyovers are identified with their sponsors, usually congressmen, instead of an “overall transportation development strategy.”

They were never identified as a “remedy for traffic congestion” in past transportation and land use studies for Metro Cebu.

Del Mar appeared on behalf of his daughter Rep. Cutie del Mar, who has taken on his priority projects in the north district. They suffered a setback last month when Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson put two flyovers on hold.

The TWG, headed by engineer Jose Mari Bigornia, was formed last September by the RDC Infrastructure Development Committee (RDC-IDC) to look deeper into the flyover controversy after an outcry was raised by concerned citizens over announced plans to build two more flyovers in Cebu City by November. (Read the key findings of the TWG report in Opinion, page 16.)

Its recommendations will be made to the RDC in Central Visayas, a multipartite body headed by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.

Other TWG members are Valeriano “Bobit” Avila, Fr. Margarito Alingasa, Citom chairman Sylvan Jakosalem, LTO Regional Director Raul Aguilos, transport engineer Lynn Gloria Madrona, architect/urban planner Omar Maxwell Espina, Lapu-Lapu City representative Perla Amar and Mandaue City representative Florentino Nimor.

The proposed M.J. Cuenco flyover has a total cost of P480 million while the Gorordo Avenue would cost P220 million, it said.

Both proposed flyovers were endorsed by the RDC in eight resolutions passed between 2005 and 2011 “because no public consultations were done prior or immediately after their approval.”

The TWG’s main recommendation was to request the Dept. of Public Work sand Highways for a “moratorium” on all flyovers in Metro Cebu until the agency can show “serious efforts at public consultations with concerned LGUs, national government agencies and stakeholders were carried out.”

It also asked for a comprehensive traffic study and “alternative solutions” to traffic congestion.

Del Mar was irked by the observation that the two proposed flyovers in Cebu City did not undergo public consultation.

He said they already gathered more than 34,000 signatures of support from barangay residents and business and transport stakeholders.

“We have done it but we can never have enough of it,” Del Mar said.

“We have overconsulted. The issues has been overdiscussed. The media coverage even made more than enough of the issue,” said Del Mar.

Heated words were exchanged in the RDC-IDC meeting with Fr. Alingasa, a private sector representative.

“There’s no transparency in informing the public about what’s really been done,” Del Mar said and “no sincere effort” to explain why flyovers were being built.

Del Mar arrived unannounced at the NEDA-7 office before the meeting started and chatted with private stakeholders who oppose the flyovers like Joel Lee.

He sat at the back. As the meeting was called to order, RDC-IDC chairman Manny Rabacal called Del Mar and had him sit in front next to him.

Engineer Bigornia of the Geoplan Cebu Foundation, who chairs the TWG, presented the group’s report on the flyovers, which was the main agenda.

He was about to start giving its recommendations for a moratorium on flyovers in Metro Cebu when Del Mar rose in defense of the flyovers.

Del Mar said RDC-IDC members could “not intelligently study” the findings and recommendations of the report and vote on it.

“Most of the members who had not discussed the report have no sufficient time to study the report. How can we make intelligent voting if our discussions are not intelligent,” Del Mar said.

After a period of arguments, the committee members voted 18 to eight in favor of deferring discussion of the study till they meet again on Nov. 22.

Del Mar objected to TWG recommendation for the RDC to “reconsider” its previous approval of the flyover projects.

Del Mar said it’s “not right” for the RDC to withdraw approval of the two flyovers projects through eight council resolutions approving the project.

Other committee members listened in silence as the former congressman and Fr. Alingasa argued about the flyovers.

The former congressman said Fr. Alingasa’s remarks about lack of transparency were “serious accusations.”

Del Mar said public consultations are only needed when infrastructure projects are already in place.

“Public consultations only come in when the project is definite and the budget is already prepared,” he said.

Del Mar said complaints from culture and heritage advocates that the Gorordo flyover would damage the Asilo De la Milagrosa was an “imagined violation.”

“What blocks the view of the church is their fence and railings, not the flyover,” Del Mar said. He said a flyover would not block the church if you stand in front of the church property. He said a flyover can also provide a bird’s-eye view over the property.

The RDC-IUC meeting was attended by 18 members as well as NEDA Regional Director Efren Carreon, RDC secretariat Airen Hubahib, Citom representative Arnel Tancinco, engineer Nonato Paylado, assistant DPWH-7 chief for planning and design division, Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete and private sector representative Roberto Go.

The TWG reviewed nine previous studies, including the Metro Cebu Land Use and Transport Study (MCLUTS) made in 1981 and the Japan-funded study on the Cebu Integrated Area Development Master Plan of July 1994.

Its recommendations included having DPWH require their planning staff to undergo training on traffic analysis.

It also requested the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA) to orient all RDC members on the provisions of National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.

The TWG study findings showed:

First, flyovers were not among the recommended traffic solutions in previous transportation studies.

Second, that there was “limited problem analysis and basis for the recommended flyovers.” A simple “traffic count” at intersections was the only traffic parameter used. Other vital studies like intersection analysis, travel time and delay surveys and queuing analysis were not performed.

There was a “lack of alternative solutions to proposed flyovers” considered by the proponents such as new road links, flared intersections and a mass transit system.

“The preparation of a feasibility study, which is a critical component of the cycle of the multimillion project, was bypassed,” the report said.

So why do flyovers get built by the DPWH?

As explained by the DPWH, requests were made to their district office by stakeholders in a congressional district.

“Infrastructure projects especially flyovers are generally identified with the sponsors rather than as part of an overall transportation development strategy,” said the TWG report.

“Most often, the availability of funds, made possible by the diligence of the concerned congressman, determines the high prioritization and early implementation of the project by DPWH.”