DPWH suspends Cebu flyover projects

MANILA, Philippines—Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson has put on hold the construction of two flyovers in Cebu City following protests over the controversial projects.

Singson said he decided to order the suspension of the projects after meeting with leaders of civil society groups from Cebu.

He, however, said on Tuesday that the Department of Public Works and Highways would proceed with widening the intersections on streets where the flyovers were supposed to be built.

“Our position is, if the people of Cebu object to that, we would not insist,” Singson said.

“We have put on hold the construction of two flyovers in Cebu and instead we would proceed with the widening of those intersections,” he said.

The first planned flyover at the intersection of M.J. Cuenco Avenue and Gen. Maxilom Avenue costs P480 million while the second was supposed to have been built at the junction of Gorordo Avenue and Archbishop Reyes Avenue.

Singson said he would wait for Cebu City officials to complete a master plan for the city before deciding whether or not to proceed with the flyover project.

“That issue will come back again and again as civil society and NGOs oppose it,” Singson said.

He said that the construction of the flyovers was approved by the local government and other agencies.

“But if (civil society and NGOs) feel that most of those approvals were railroaded, then we said that is a different story,” Singson said.

“So, the agreement was that we would put on hold the construction of the two flyovers…instead, we would proceed with widening,” he added.

A group of nuns has joined protests against the flyovers, organizing prayer rallies and going on processions to press officials to stop the projects.

On Oct. 1, nuns belonging to the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul held a dawn procession at first to seek divine guidance on how to respond to threats posed by the flyover projects on parts of the nuns’ compound.

Part of the compound of the Asilo de la Milagrosa at Gorordo Avenue, the nuns’ home, sits on the path of the flyover projects.

DPWH officials earlier said they would redesign the projects to reduce their impact on the Asilo.

Augustinito Hermoso, legal officer of the DPWH in Central Visayas, said design changes have to be made to protect the Asilo compound.

Cebu politicians earlier tried to ride on the protests, issuing statements appealing to the project contractor, WTG Construction, to spare Asilo.

The nuns have the support of the 3,000-strong Movement for Liveable Cebu, a multisectoral group against the construction of more flyovers in Cebu.