Our infrastructure wish list for Cebu

So finally the campaign for the local elections for governor, provincial board members, city or municipal mayors, vice mayors and councilors is underway. But truth to tell, almost all of the incumbent officials have been on the campaign trail more than a year ago using their government assigned vehicles to go into the farthest reaches of their respective towns or cities to campaign for their re-election.

Call it a huge unfair advantage, but apparently the officials of the Commission on Elections merely shrug their shoulders saying that these public officials could not be sanctioned because they were not under the jurisdiction of the Comelec. This only goes to show how inutile the Comelec has become. They should have barred those who campaigned early from seeking re-election. But like I said, they are all inutile.

Meanwhile, a local daily (not The FREEMAN) came up with a headline entitled "What Cebu needs…" suggesting that we demand from our candidates to come up with a wish list of what we Cebuanos need from these candidates. I too have my own wish list, something that should have happened to Cebu City a long time ago. To be exact, this should have been approved by the Department of Public Works and Highways in the 2000. But alas, they never came to implement this program. I am referring to the parallel road to Escario Street, something that I have been batting since my days when I was chairman of the Cebu City Traffic Operations and Management and a member of the Regional Development Council.

In fact as I was the Cebu adviser for the Cebu campaign for presidential candidate Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro, during the presidential debate held at the Cebu International Convention Center, he mentioned that he would implement this project. Alas, we have had five years under the Aquino administration and Cebu City got nothing! President PNoy bragged that he plunked in P25 billion in infrastructure projects for Cebu, but in reality, he only plunked in P2.3 billion in rehabilitation projects. His widening of the Mactan Circumferential Road was a total lie!

So I would like to hear it from the candidates from Team Rama or the candidates from the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan as to who would promise to implement the parallel road to Escario Street? When I thought of linking opening this road in the 2000s, traffic in Escario Street was very light. But I already predicted that things would go worse and today, this is one of Cebu's most congested streets and the only solution in sight is the construction of this parallel road to Escario Street.

Another road that needs to be opened is the road leading to Camp Lapu-Lapu, which could help decongest Banilad Road. If they can open up Camp Aguinaldo for public use, I don't see any reason why the military won't allow us to use that road. So let's hear it from Team Rama or BOPK if they would tell us how they would implement these road projects.

Now as far as the campaign for mayor in Mandaue City, we too have the same question as to who mayoralty candidate - Luigi Quisumbing or Lolypop Ouano - could come up with plans and ideas how to decongest traffic especially on the roads leading towards the two bridges that span the Mactan Channel? The solution to this problem is not a state secret. It is a matter of implementing and doing what needs to be done.

There are four flyovers that Mandaue City has to construct in the next three years. First is a flyover along M.C. Briones St. (Mandaue Highway) at the intersection of UN Avenue at the corner of Pacific Mall. Then there's a need to construct a flyover along UN Avenue and Plaridel Street leading towards the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, then another flyover at the junction of M.L. Quezon Avenue and Plaridel Street leading towards the old Mactan Bridge.

If the officials of Mandaue City only had the foresight, they should have constructed these flyovers during the entire five years under the Aquino administration. After all, they all belong to the Liberal Party. But if these Liberal Party candidates make these promises now, I would say that it is too late in the hour for they have lost a great opportunity to help the people of Mandaue in the last five years, which is why everyone has to suffer passing through traffic congested Mandaue City.

Just wait what happens on April 1st when DPWH starts working on the old bridge, which promises to be another humongous traffic congestion. I just hope that those barges are ready to be used by the public. But so far, we don't even know where they would be landing on the Mandaue City side and where they would be landing on the Mactan side. More importantly people want to know how much are the fares for those barges if there be any. Again I would like to emphasize to the people of Mandaue that the Liberal Party has failed them in the last five years by not giving them even a single flyover.

For email responses to this article, write to vsbobita@mozcom.com or vsbobita@gmail.com. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.