Monday, November 26, 2007 The changing face of Cebu By Rianne C. Tecson Of Sun.Star Cebu With Minerva B. Gerodias, Linette C. Ramos & Malou M. Mozo
LOOKING back, urban planning consultant Pedro Adonis Compendio said, there were only four things going for Cebu 25 years ago: a cleaner environment and fresher air, no traffic congestion in city streets, unclogged rivers and canals, and cheaper daily needs.
Development study grants after the end of Martial Law helped local governments change the landscape.
In the 1990’s alone, Cebu gained an international airport, major roads like the Cebu Transcentral Highway, reclamation projects in Cebu and Mandaue, and a second bridge between the mainland and Mactan.
Before all that, Cebu was a province that took pride in the beaches of Talisay and Mactan, and a handful of tourist attractions in the outskirts that took a few hours to reach. Flights to other Asian countries didn’t exist.
“These basic infrastructure facilities in the last 20 to 25 years have triggered the development of so many industries, practically all over the province of Cebu,” Compendio said.
As families and businesses gained access to phone lines and the Internet, Cebuanos found themselves making the most out of strategic advantages like a central location and well-educated professionals.
“Cebu will always be the midpoint of commerce, trade and tourism,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
What do we want?
But if Cebu aspires to become one of the most livable cities in Asia and a major tourist destination, urban environmental infrastructure and mass transport systems should be in place in 10 years, Cebu City Planning Officer Nigel Paul Villarete said.
“The premise should be based on what kind of economy we will have. Assuming that it’s still service-oriented, knowledge-based and deals more with technology rather than hard manufacturing, and with heavy emphasis on tourism, then we will need a mix of the usual infrastructure and those that relate to the management of the urban environment,” he added.
Among others, what’s needed are a comprehensive drainage system, facilities and methods for the proper management of solid waste and waste reduction. Cebu City needs to have recycling plants and residents should learn at-source waste segregation, he said.
A mass transport system, particularly the bus rapid transit (BRT), will also be needed.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has also proposed the construction of bridges, tunnels or a roll on-roll off barge system that will link the South Road Properties (SRP) to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, as a way of increasing the marketability of his pet project.
High-end commercial and recreational facilities, including an international yacht club, are being planned to attract wealthy tourists and business owners.
“A lot of the infrastructure we are proposing will be powered by the SRP economy and we predict that in 13 years, it will be fully occupied and operational,” said Villarete.
More autonomy
But infrastructure and physical changes are only part of what needs to change soon, another official said.
“More than these physical infrastructure needs, Cebu needs a legal framework outside of the present system, where it can be more autonomous and relatively independent, both in terms of attracting investments as well as in providing for the infrastructure to meet the needs of new investments,” Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said.
While Cebu “has grown despite these strictures,” the present centralized system, where almost everything has to be decided in the capital, has hampered opportunities for local governments.
Citing local tax rates as a come-on for investors, Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas, a former governor, has filed a bill seeking the declaration of the entire Cebu as an economic zone.
Another Gullas proposal, also pending in the House of Representatives, pushes for a Metro Cebu Light Rail Transit (LRT) system connecting Carcar City in the south to Danao in the north. (See related story.)
Since a mass transport system is “the main basic infrastructure that needs to be installed,” Compendio said, projects that should be implemented in the next 25 years must focus on creating and improving road networks, as well as air and sea ports.
Power, water
He agreed that the Provincial Government’s proposed Trans-axial Highway, intended to cut travel time between the northern and southern ends of Cebu, has to be pursued aggressively.
The Capitol has completed the initial studies on the highway, which is also being pitched as a way to bring power and water to “distribution points” throughout Cebu.
Local leaders, said Compendio, need to come up with one comprehensive project to address the power and water supply problems, if they want development projects to proceed full tilt.
“We need to encourage the generation of power inland, as recent outages teach us that we cannot rely on outside sources,” Garcia added.
“I have personally battled to clear the obstacles thrown in our way. With Kepco (the Korean Electric Power Corp.) soon generating 200 megawatts and Toledo another 200, then we should be all set for the next 10 years,” said the governor. “But we have to prove that it can be done here, so that more interested parties will follow suit.”
As for water, Cebu Province has created the Provincial Water Resource Board to serve as the “clearinghouse” for private sector proposals for bulk water supply.
The Province is focusing on the infrastructure that will efficiently channel and redistribute water where it is needed most, but is banking on the help of the private sector for the development of bulk water sources.
“That’s what we should focus on, and not the shrill, although apparently quite profitable, naysaying about how Cebu is drying up,” she said.
Human capital
Another feasibility study is needed for the P7.2-billion Mananga Dam Project, as the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) decides whether to adopt a build-operate-transfer scheme or seek a loan.
The Mananga Dam has a projected yield of 109,000 cubic meters a day. As of March 2007, the MCWD reported an average supply of 163,000 cu.m., against a demand of 275,000 cu.m.
Apart from more stable water and power supply, the local government and the private sector will also have to work on two things: the demand for building space and the quality of workers.
Cebu’s survey ranking as one of the 15 emerging outsourcing destinations for global companies should be seen as a major challenge among industry players to improve competitiveness, said Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Francis Monera.
“Apart from the export industry, Cebu continues to be strong in the tourism and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors,” he said.
Cebu is attracting not only the voice services but also medical and legal transcriptions, as well as financial services and market research.
Opening the island
To complement efforts at global competitiveness, the Mactan airport will have to be upgraded and expanded to accommodate at least 10 million visitors, said Compendio.
(The Department of Tourism’s target is more modest, at 4.5 million travelers a year by 2012, at least one million of them foreign tourists.)
The urban planner is also pushing for community airports in Bogo, Medellin or Daanbantayan in the north and Badian, Alegria or Ronda in the south, so tourist sites in these areas can be reached within 15 minutes, coming from Mactan.
“Traffic within Metro Cebu should also be addressed squarely as soon as possible,” he added, “while access to the municipalities will be taken care of by the Capitol and the National Government, local government units in Metro Cebu, especially Cebu and Mandaue cities.”
Among the options are widening roads; constructing flyovers and traffic signal systems; and enforcing land use, zoning and related ordinances.
“Metro Cebu should continue the work done through the MCLUTS in terms of addressing the traffic, and coordination with all stakeholders should be a continuing process,” Compendio said.
The MCLUTS or the Metro Cebu Land Use and Transport Study was drafted in 1979 to help define the land use and transportation strategy plan for 1980 to 2000.
Just how urgent are all these plans for Cebu’s growth?
“So urgent,” said Garcia, “that even now, we have begun to lay the groundwork for these projects.”
While tremendous resources are required and time-consuming government procedures likely to slow projects down, Compendio is optimistic that with Cebu’s “strong private sector, there will always be alternative solutions and Cebu will continue to lure developers.”
The most important thing, he said, is for all Cebuanos to believe in these goals and work together to achieve them.
