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Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Cebu mayor to open ‘unclosed’ south road
CEBU CITY -- Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will obey the court and will “open” the South Coastal Road, which he said was not closed in the first place.
However, banking on a technicality, the mayor said pedestrians, or even those who go to the SRP for a picnic by the beach, are still prohibited because the court order mentioned only “motorists.”
He received City Hall’s copy of the order Tuesday morning.
“There is no hesitation on my part to implement it except the physical constraints. We’re going to be reasonably fast,” he told a press conference.
He was referring to obstructions and heavy equipment used in the ongoing construction of an underground tunnel at the reclaimed area near the Malacañang sa Sugbo.
The mayor also insisted the road was never closed in the first place.
“The SCR is open. I never closed it. Thousands and thousands of commuters will testify that I never closed it, but it’s regulated,” he said.
Lawyer Alfredo Sipalay had filed a lawsuit against Mayor Osmeña and two other Cebu City Hall officials for the road closure that took effect last April 8.
He had argued that the road, which cuts travel time to and from the south of Cebu, is the property of the National Government, so Osmeña had no authority to stop people from using it.
The court, in a 16-page order last Monday, told City Hall to “remove all obstacles at the south coastal road and to cease and desist and refrain from exercising acts that would prevent all motorists from passing the south coastal road,” at least from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The mayor, though, cried foul over the decision, saying it should not have issued an injunction without any hearing.
The injunction, he said, “disregards the provision of the Local Government Code that authorized the mayor to regulate traffic.”
Osmeña announced that all motorists could use the road from Lawaan, Talisay City junction to the Malacañang sa Sugbo at Aduana with or without the SRP pass City Hall is issuing.
Those who want to use the Mambaling road that leads to the SRP, however, could only do so if they have the SRP pass.
Osmeña said the court now assumes the role of traffic manager and it cannot just wash its hands of any accidents happening in the SRP.
“It’s my job to see to it that nothing happens. But it is now getting out of control because the court says do it that way and that,” the mayor said.
City Hall will continue issuing passes to interested motorists, considering that the court order is not final and the City will file a motion questioning it.
League of Municipalities of the Philippines Cebu chapter president Ronald Allan Cesante said their happiness over the RTC order to open the coastal road is not yet complete, as Cebu City still has legal options.
What would be best, he said, is for local governments to set aside animosity.
Osmeña had said that aside from security concerns, he closed the coastal road to punish Talisay City for claiming part of the 295-hectare South Reclamation Project.
When the road was closed, Cesante, in behalf of southern mayors, had appealed for its reopening because people coming and going to the south of Cebu had to endure traffic and longer travel through N. Bacalso Ave. and the Cebu South Road.
Talisay Mayor Socrates Fernandez said the reopening of the road is beneficial not only to the commuters but to the local traders as well.
For her part, Talisay City Administrator Aurora Econg lauded the court’s order to reopen the coastal road, saying it is “a triumph of justice.”
“The message is clear, nobody is above the law and the rule of law must prevail,” Econg told reporters Tuesday.
However, Mayor Osmeña said the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau will enforce his directive that only motorists can enter the SRP. (RHM/JPM/GC of Sun.Star Cebu)
(October 19, 2005 issue)
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