Tomas Osmeña wants Cebu City to reject BRT realignment outright

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña wants the Cebu City Council to reject outright the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) proposed realignment of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT), arguing that the city—not the national government—holds the authority to approve or reject changes to the project.

During Tuesday’s regular session, Osmeña moved to amend his own proposed resolution by deleting language that merely urged the DOTr to reject the revised alignment.

Instead, he asked the council to declare that Cebu City itself rejects the proposed realignment, saying such action would carry greater legal and political weight.

“We’re not asking the DOTr to reject. We are doing the rejecting,” Osmeña told the council.

READ: Council withdraws CBRT SRP loop report after Osmeña slams plan

He argued that simply requesting the DOTr to reject the proposal would still leave the national agency free to proceed with the project.

“If the city disapproves of the alignment, DOTr cannot override it,” he said.

Rejecting the revised route

The amendment significantly changes the intent of the resolution.

The original draft merely called on the DOTr to reject the proposed realignment and restore the project’s original Bulacao-to-Talamban corridor.

READ: Tomas Osmeña now taps PBBM, World Bank to restore CBRT route

Osmeña’s amendment instead declares the City Council’s direct opposition to the revised alignment, effectively making it the official position of Cebu City’s legislative body.

He maintained that the original corridor should remain the priority because it was the alignment approved during the project’s planning, public consultations and international funding process.

Heated debate

The proposal triggered a lengthy debate among council members.

Majority Floor Leader Councilor Dave Tumulak argued that the council had already expressed its position through an earlier resolution urging the Office of the President and the World Bank to review the realignment and restore the original route.

He said another resolution could prove redundant and suggested allowing the mayor and the DOTr to address the matter.

Osmeña disagreed.

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He insisted that the previous resolution merely requested national agencies to act, while his amendment would make Cebu City’s rejection official.

“This council rejects the alignment,” he reiterated.

Councilor Sisinio Andales backed Osmeña’s interpretation, saying the proposed resolution differed from the earlier measure because it directly expressed the council’s own position rather than simply appealing to national authorities.

Presiding Officer Pro Tempore Philip Zafra likewise noted that the amendment no longer sought reconsideration but explicitly rejected the proposed realignment.

Mixed views

Not all councilors agreed with rejecting the revised alignment.

Transportation Committee Chairman Councilor Winston Pepito said he continued to support the original Bulacao-to-Talamban corridor but also believed extending the BRT to the South Road Properties (SRP) would stimulate investments, create jobs, and increase city revenues.

Pepito explained that work started first on the revised alignment because portions of it were easier to construct, not because the original route had already been abandoned.

“Wala man gyud mo-against ana.” (No one is really opposing the original route.)

Councilor Mikel Rama also argued that the original alignment and the proposed SRP extension were not mutually exclusive.

He said the city could pursue both instead of framing the issue as a choice between serving commuters and supporting economic development.

Special session

Following nearly an hour of debate, Osmeña proposed letting the public decide the issue through a future plebiscite if the council could not reach a consensus.

Instead, Councilor Mikel Rama suggested inviting the DOTr and other stakeholders to explain the basis for the proposed realignment before the council reaches a final position.

The body eventually agreed to hold a special session at 9 a.m. on Friday, where representatives from the DOTr will present and justify the proposed changes before the council decides whether to formally reject the revised alignment.

Background

The latest debate comes days after councilors withdrew a committee report supporting further evaluation of the DOTr’s request to develop additional CBRT infrastructure within the SRP.

Osmeña opposed that proposal, warning that shifting the project’s priority toward the SRP would undermine the BRT’s original purpose of serving commuters traveling between Bulacao in the south and Talamban in the north.

The DOTr has sought the city’s approval for additional BRT infrastructure inside the SRP as it races to complete project components before funding deadlines expire.

Osmeña, however, insists the city should protect the integrity of the original CBRT alignment and formally reject any realignment that, in his view, departs from the project’s original public transport objectives.

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