The Cebu City Legal Office advised the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit-Project Management Office in a Sept. 13, 2026 legal opinion to pause payments for properties along F. Vestil St. while the DOTr clarifies the disputed project alignment.
The City Council previously rejected the proposed realignment via resolutions on April 14 and July 3, urging a return to the original Bulacao-Talamban route, though the CLO noted this does not cancel the alignment or remove owners' rights to compensation.
Some private property owners along F. Vestil St. have already vacated their land but remain unpaid, while Mayor Nestor Archival’s chief of staff Kenneth Siasar stated the City is reviewing complaints regarding the P900 million allocated by the National Government for property acquisition.
THE Cebu City Legal Office has advised the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit-Project Management Office (CBRT-PMO) to put on hold payments for properties along F. Vestil St. in Barangay Mambaling while the Department of Transportation (DOTr) clarifies the project’s disputed alignment.
The issue could affect property owners whose land is being acquired for the project, including some who have already vacated their properties but have yet to receive payment.
At the center of the dispute is the CBRT route. The City Council has rejected the proposed realignment and wants the project to return to its original route from Barangay Bulacao in the south to Barangay Talamban in the north.
The City Legal Office (CLO), however, said the council’s resolution does not by itself cancel the realignment.
Reason for holding the payment
In its Sept. 13, 2026, legal opinion, the CLO advised the CBRT-PMO, which is under the Office of the City Administrator, to hold in abeyance the processing of payments for affected properties along F. Vestil St.
The advice followed a request from CBRT-PMO head Ma. Concepcion Encab oasking how the City should proceed with payments to project-affected persons whose properties are along F. Vestil St.
The City Council earlier passed a resolution on April 14 calling on the Office of the President and the World Bank to review and reconsider the realignment and restore the original Bulacao-Talamban route. On July 3, the council again rejected the proposed realignment and called for restoration of the original route.
According to the CLO, the July 3 resolution is an expression of the council’s official position, but it does not have the force and effect of law to cancel the proposed realignment.
It said the authority to determine the CBRT alignment and oversee its implementation belongs to the DOTr, and it recommended that the CBRT-PMO coordinate with the DOTr on the payment of the affected properties while the alignment remains unresolved.
The City Government is holding off on payment processing because it remains unclear whether the affected properties will still be needed under the final CBRT alignment.
Compensation rights remain
The CLO said the hold on payment does not extinguish an affected person’s right to just compensation.
It said that the council’s rejection of the proposed realignment does not, by itself, remove the right of affected property owners to receive compensation.
The issue is therefore the timing and processing of the payments, not the loss of the owners’ right to compensation.
Property owners already affected
Some private property owners have already vacated their properties because of the CBRT project but have yet to receive payment.
Mayor Nestor Archival’s chief of staff, Kenneth Siasar, said the City received a communication from affected property owners and is reviewing their complaints and supporting documents.
Archival has met with some of the affected owners and instructed them to submit a list of those affected and the amounts they are claiming, Siasar said.
The City will check whether the claimants have the required documents and whether their claims fall within existing guidelines.
“If and when it is within the guidelines, then we will consider it,” Siasar said.
Funding issues
In July, Archival said the National Government had allocated P900 million for property acquisition in the Vestil area.
The funds had already been downloaded to the City Government, but payment remained subject to documentary requirements.
The payment issue comes as the City continues preparations for the CBRT while the World Bank-supported project faces a Sept. 30, 2026, closing date for its financing arrangements.
The CLO said its recommendation was based only on the documents and facts submitted to it. It may be reconsidered if additional documents or facts are presented. / CAV