NOTHING gets done in any city without the mayor’s say so. More so in know-it-all Tommy Osmeña’s Cebu City. Not if it’s the last good thing that needs to happen. Rep. Eddie Gullas and the big shots of the Department of Transportation and Communication know this only too well. That is why they called for a conference to try to sell to the mayor the Light Rail Transit-Mono Rail Transit (LRT-MRT) project and get him to endorse it.

But what do you know? The declared reason for the official rejection by the City Council of the project was Gullas-and-company’s failure to follow procedure by purporting to implement it without the mayor’s endorsement. One might recall, however, that right off the bat and prior to the council’s official rejection the mayor went ballistic and nastily rejected the LRT-MRT in favor of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

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One likes to think anyone interested in solving the city’s twin problems of congestion in the slums and chaos in the streets would take a good look at alternative solutions. One also likes to think a modest and open-minded public servant would reject the LRT-MRT, if at all, for its lack of merits. But then, of course, we know that modesty and open-mindedness are not exactly our mayor’s strengths.

But check this out. If they were not consulted, how come they are now able to reject it? If they were not consulted, why are we not seeing heavy equipments and materials pouring in to start the project? The truth of the matter is, for all we know, the LRT-MRT might be a better option but we will not anymore find out because the mayor, seconded by an ever obedient City Council, has rejected it for, of all reasons, not following the proper procedure.

One wonders, therefore, what is the City Council’s priority, solving the city’s problems or enforcing the mayor’s will on his subjects in the city and on his enemies in the province? One wonders because one cannot understand why they cannot give the LRT-MRT a fair chance and decide whether to accept or reject it at least on the basis of merits. One does not understand why the mayor gets rude and nasty at the mere offer of an alternative to his BRT.

It has always been our contention that the problems of Cebu City and Cebu Province are intertwined. One of the merits of the LRT-MRT project is it addresses these intertwined problems of the city and province. With the LRT-MRT people could live inexpensively in the suburbs and travel fast and inexpensively to and around the city, thus decongesting our slums and easing the flow of inner-city traffic.

Still, the BRT could be the better option. I am only saying the LRT-MRT should not have been rejected on a mere procedural technicality. But then maybe it was not about procedure after all. How naive can we be?