CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama must have a solid reason to justify the removal of the remaining skywalks in the city so as not to run into trouble with the Commission on Audit (COA), said Councilor Jerry Guardo.
Skywalks are public-funded infrastructure whose removal would need “enough justification,” Guardo, head of the committee on infrastructure, told SunStar Cebu on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.
Guardo said City Council approval is essential under government procedure for the removal of public infrastructure to avoid being flagged by the COA.
Last March 14, Rama said he planned to remove all remaining skywalks within the city’s jurisdiction, following the demolition of two skywalks along Osmeña Blvd.
Before the demolition, the Council refused to order the removal of the two skywalks due to ownership issues.
Skywalks
For skywalks along the south district namely those located in Barangay Pardo (in front of the Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Parish), Barangay Basak San Nicolas (near the University of San Jose-Recoletos), and Barangay Mambaling (near Cebu Institute of Technology-University) affected by the ongoing Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project, Guardo said their demolition can be justified.
Guardo said the Bulacao route of the CBRT will include the installation of additional lanes, requiring the removal of skywalks.
However, for skywalks not affected by the CBRT project, the executive department must justify to the Council the need to demolish them, said Guardo.
As for replacing these skywalks with underpasses, Guardo said he had yet to see the blueprints. He said these underpasses would need the approval of the Council for budget allocation.
In the north district, there are skywalks in Barangay Kamputhaw (along Escario St.), Barangay Banilad (on Gov. M. Cuenco Ave.), Barangay Day-as (going to Imus St.), and another on Osmeña Blvd. corner Sanciangko St.
There are also skywalks along V. Rama Ave., near Fuente Circle along Gen. Maxilom Ave., as well as near the Lahug Barangay Hall.
Taipei-like
Meanwhile, Rama hit back at individuals who opposed his plan to demolish the city’s remaining skywalks. Over the online program “Ingna’ng Mayor” on Tuesday, Rama told former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña to look at the state of the city’s skywalks.
He said most of the skywalks have encroached on sidewalks, forcing pedestrians to use the roads instead.
Rama also maintained that the skywalks are impractical for senior citizens and have become a “comfort room” for the public and living quarters for street dwellers.
Rama’s proposal came after the removal of the skywalks in front of the Cebu Normal University and the Department of Health Central Visayas compound on Osmeña Blvd., to accommodate the CBRT.
The mayor, who is in Taiwan for the 2024 Smart City Summit and Expo, said he wants to emulate Taipei’s wider sidewalks that are about six meters wide with greenery to be installed also on the streets of Cebu City.
Osmeña earlier said Rama’s plan to replace skywalks with underpasses was costlier, complicated and impractical.
The former mayor suggested that Rama instead rebuild the existing skywalks with the vision to make the infrastructure easier for the elderly and school children with bags to use. / EHP