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Friday, May 06, 2005
Cebu City mayor can't close coastal road: court told
CEBU CITY -- Mayor Tomas Osmeña or the Cebu City Government does not have the authority to close the South Coastal Road because the City did not finance that project, said former Metro Cebu Development Project (MCDP) chairman Samuel Darza.
Darza was presented Thursday as the first witness by lawyer Alfredo Sipalay, who has asked the court to prevent City Hall from closing the coastal road.
In the preliminary hearing on the civil suit against Osmeña and two other officials, Darza said the National Government financed and constructed the coastal road, which traverses the South Reclamation Project (SRP).
Sipalay and two officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will also take the stand. Records show it was the DPWH that supervised work on the P7-billion coastal road, which is supposed to complement the South Reclamation Project.
In his testimony, Darza said that Osmeña cannot claim City Hall has to close the road due to an ongoing construction, because, according to Darza, the planned construction of a tunnel is still in the pre-qualification stage.
But at City Hall, Mayor Osmeña stood pat on his decision not to reopen the south coastal road, despite commuters' complaints and the lawsuit.
"Definitely, (Representative Eduardo) Gullas won't dictate to us. We'll decide when it's going to open, not him. Tell him Martial Law is over. I will be the one to decide. What you see speaks for us and our needs, not him," he said.
Talisay City Administrator Aurora Econg, for her part, said she will be appearing as co-counsel in the May 10 hearing on the coastal road case.
Although he admitted that there are other roads that can be used in going to Cebu City, Darza said the opening the coastal road gave commuters some relief from the worsening traffic on N. Bacalso Ave.
"No, Sir, we are not contented (with the existing roads). In fact, it will only take seven minutes for me to reach Cebu City using the coastal road. But if I pass through N. Bacalso Ave., it will take 45 minutes to an hour for me to go to my destination," Darza said.
Darza, who served eight years as the City Traffic Operations and Management (Citom) chairman, also said the closure of the coastal road certainly worsened traffic congestion on N. Bacalso Ave.
During the cross-examination by City Hall lawyer Joseph U. Bernaldez, Darza admitted that the opening or closing of the coastal road is a question of convenience, not a necessity.
But since the road is already there, he could not understand why it should be closed, Darza said.
Opening the coastal road would greatly decongest traffic in downtown Cebu, he added.
Also yesterday, Sipalay admitted he was a "bit disappointed" with the new leadership of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu City Chapter for not helping him in his case against the road's closure.
He said that when one IBP-Cebu City Chapter officer asked the organization to help Sipalay financially, the other officers reportedly asked for a letter from Sipalay detailing his expenses and request for aid.
"I told them, `No, thanks.' It is just like asking Tomas (Osmeña) to give me a security pass. They are plainly disinterested in this issue," Sipalay said.
He also said that while the officers of the IBP-Cebu City Chapter promised to sponsor a resolution questioning the road's closure during their first meeting last April 14, no resolution was proposed until now.
IBP-Cebu City Chapter President Alex Tolentino could not be reached for comment. (GN with GAC)
(May 6, 2005 issue)
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