CEBU City North District Representative Raul de Mar walked out from the meeting of the Regional Development Council (RDC)-Central Visayas Friday, March 16, after projects for the city were not included in the list of those approved.
In an interview, Del Mar said there's no reason for him to stay in the meeting, stressing it does not give him a voice.
"There's no sense in what they're saying...We attend but we don't have any voice, so why attend there?" he said.
Del Mar, during the meeting, objected to the approval of the projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Central Visayas, after some proposals, particularly the construction of three depressed structures in Cebu City, were not included in the list of those that were given a nod.
“The projects that I signed during the consultation are different from the projects being presented for approval now,” he said.
He also lamented that there were changes in the DPWH's Programs, Activities and Projects (PAPs) that the RDC endorsed, and he was not informed about it.
"The projects that I signed during the consultation are different from the projects being presented for approval now," he said.
"It's the different version. Isn't that fundamental that they asked for my signature but come up with a version that's not the same?...They heard my concerns...but they went on and approved the submission, so I objected. That is why, why will I stay there if we don't have any voice?" he added.
Instead of endorsing the actual construction, the PAPs of DPWH only include feasibility studies for some road capacity enhancement projects for three areas in the north district.
During the discussion, RDC-Central Visayas Infrastructure Development Committee head Glenn Soco said they decided to allocate for the feasibility study to determine first if the projects are ideal for certain areas in the city.
But Del Mar said he will just revisit his concerns when the projects will reach the Congress during the budget deliberation.
The RDC council meeting was held at the Montebello Villa Hotel in Cebu City. (With reports from RVC of SunStar Cebu and SCG of Superbalita Cebu/SunStar Philippines)