Cebu City and Province - Compiled Threads [Archive] - Page 249

diehardbisdak

October 14th, 2009, 08:33 AM

Cebu City council soon to have own website (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/community/view/20091012-229647/Cebu_City_council_soon_to_have_own_website)
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 07:53:00 10/12/2009

ORDINANCES and other important records of the Cebu City Council will soon be available to the public through the Internet.

Belinda Navascues, staff of the Vice Mayors’ League of the Philippines (VMLP) under Cebu City acting mayor Michael Rama, said the city government is now preparing to make its own website for the legislative department that will also be available to other local government units.

Navascues said the Cebu City government is digitalizing the records of the city council and finalizing some documentation before making it available on the Internet. Rogelio Montesclaros, another staff of VMLP, said the continuing legislative education seminar, which runs from May 14 until this month, trained the participants on how to implement Electronic Legislation (E-Legis), codification, legislative tracking and other legislative processes.

The seminar was held at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino in Lahug and attended by vice mayors, councilors, council staff, IT staff and other public officials from the 80 provinces.

Franklin Seno, former Cebu City councilor and author and designer of Perpetual Legislative Document Administrator System (PLDAS), was the main lecturer of the seminar.

He introduced the local government units modernization trilogy which include the Free/Open Source Software (FOSS), OLDAS Codification and the IC Infra.

On FOSS is about the pirate-free social progress, while PLDAS is the new standard in governance and the IC infra is the expansion of services to citizens, overseas Filipino workers and families and tourists. /CORRESPONDENT CHRIS A. LIGAN

mAiNsTrEaMhunter

October 14th, 2009, 08:33 AM

OT: guys nakakita mo sa youtube sa halo cloud sa Moscow? amazing! :banana2::banana2:

sHOPxVM6oIw

diehardbisdak

October 14th, 2009, 09:13 AM

^ ...oy, abi lang nya gidaug-daug nako si @ken....nalingaw lang ko sa iyang post..heheh!

federalist

October 14th, 2009, 09:21 AM

im in favor of a mosque and UP at SRP. A mosque is part of the marketing strategy to entice Arab investors as well as to streghten ties with our Muslim brothers. Muslems are not that bad which you think of. pila raman tawn ng lot nga gi donate sa SRP oy. as I said, the church will be built eventually so ayaw mo kasuya sa lot donation for mosque.

and it's true lets give the benifit of the doubt to Mayor Tom with the track record on his side. basin diha na ta mo boom ug maayo gyud ug maparehas ta sa Singapore.

for UP issues, siempre because that is a government school and consider an elite university here in the Philippines and better than Normal in general (kadtong mga gikan Normal or CSCST ayaw nalang mog ka high blood). ang2x man sad ug adto na e donate sa Sacn Carlos, San Jose, Cebu Doc or unsa pa nang mga eskuelahan diha nga although prestigious na pero mga mahal man ug tuition pud gihapon.

For me, UP above them all because it is a government school and the best in RP.

viva la raza

October 14th, 2009, 09:35 AM

manamilit na ta sa panid 89 sa atong makabuluhanong sukliay sa huna-huna ug opinyon mahitungod sa harang dakbayan ug lalawigan sa sugbo! ipadayon nato ni sa panid 90. Viva Cebu!

diehardbisdak

October 14th, 2009, 09:56 AM

^^ how about you start the thread 90 sir?

SineBuano

October 14th, 2009, 10:33 AM

Paspas kaayo thread. Nalingaw ko binasa ang iyong mga opinyon. Hala padayon ta sa sunod nga thread.

Henz

October 14th, 2009, 10:41 AM

Yeheyy Thread 90 na ta..

Henz

October 14th, 2009, 10:43 AM

Post Away Folks....

Link to Thread 89 (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=623368&page=3026)

viva la raza

October 14th, 2009, 10:45 AM

Padayon sa kalambuan ug kauswagan Sugbo! Viva!

Welcome to Cebu City and Province thread 90

leylander

October 14th, 2009, 10:46 AM

:) new thread, new start? or padayon ta sa mosque? hehehe kidding

viva la raza

October 14th, 2009, 10:48 AM

bai @henz, nakahimo sad ko thread 90, unsaon to pag erase?

rustyboi

October 14th, 2009, 11:38 AM

diehardbisdak

October 14th, 2009, 11:38 AM

^ edit: here's the link of thread 89:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=623368&page=3026

rau

October 14th, 2009, 11:40 AM

Guadalupe to host Crown Asia condo

CROWN Asia, a subsidiary of Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc., is set to launch its first condominium in Cebu City.

The Crown Residences project will feature five floors with an exclusive number of units to stress its breezy condo-living theme, a press statement said.

continue reading here (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/guadalupe-host-crown-asia-condo)

FLI breaks ground for Mabolo ‘Oasis’

FILINVEST Land, Inc. (FLI) recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its condominium development located in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.

The company envisions One Oasis in Cebu as the future home to “hundreds of individuals and families who want quality metropolitan living,” said FLI vice president for the Visayas and Mindanao Tristan las Marias, in a statement furnished to Sun.Star Cebu.

continue reading here (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/fli-breaks-ground-mabolo-%E2%80%98oasis%E2%80%99)

CHI set to launch new Amara tranche

WITH only eight lots remaining in its inventory for Amara North, developer Cebu Holdings Inc. is set to launch another tranche of lots, the company said in a press statement.

Eighty-four percent of the lots at Amara North, the subdivision’s fourth and latest phase, have been taken up since it was launched a year ago.

continue reading here (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/chi-set-launch-new-amara-tranche)

diehardbisdak

October 14th, 2009, 11:49 AM

^ bai @rau, any further info about S&R Supermarket in Cebu?

rau

October 14th, 2009, 11:54 AM

^ bai @rau, any further info about S&R Supermarket in Cebu?

mao ra man to akong nahibaw-an.. i was actually looking for the ad, but i think wala na to..gitangtang na sa jobsearch nga website..

wise_zech

October 14th, 2009, 12:01 PM

wow new thread nata.....hisgut nasad ta ani about sa mosque? hehe

pomperadz@yahoo.com

October 14th, 2009, 12:21 PM

good evening!!!

CONGRATS CEBU FOR THE NEW THREAD!!!!

see you sa masskara this weekend...:):):)

SUV111

October 14th, 2009, 12:45 PM

SUV111

October 14th, 2009, 12:46 PM

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see you soon here bai :) we'll make sure you'll enjoy your stay in Bacolod :)

c6josh

October 14th, 2009, 01:28 PM

:pepper::pepper::pepper:CONGRATULATIONS CEBU FOR THREAD 90 TEN MORE TO GO "CENTENNIAL THREAD" NA!!:pepper::pepper::pepper:

wise_zech

October 14th, 2009, 01:30 PM

uu nga bai 10 nalang kulang....by the way salamat sad taga SSC-BACOLOD sa always ninyo pag bisita diri.....

redjieredz

October 14th, 2009, 01:35 PM

^^ WOW thread 90 diay tah!!!! :cool:

c6josh

October 14th, 2009, 01:35 PM

^^mga migs I have a question, is there a hotel near/just beside Cebu port that's affordable and clean?:) family oriented not short time...hehehe.

ofw_cebu

October 14th, 2009, 02:04 PM

sugbutel - http://www.sugbutel.com/

zidlakan

October 14th, 2009, 02:52 PM

repost ...

just relevant info for your consideration ...

on the issue of land use and zoning:

the SRP as originally designed, was for export-processing use, with the same
configuration as MEPZ. that means only export-processing industries are to be
allowed, no commercial, tourism, institutional, or other uses - strictly singular
use - industrial/EPZ. that's why you can't find restaurants, or other business
places inside MEPZ. this was the plan approved in 1992 when the loan was
signed. and it is purely lease, no sale. if there were no intervening factors,
the SRP would have looked like MEPZ today and would have started to fill up
as early as 2005 ... 1/3 full na unta na karun ...

in 1997, the Asian crisis hit coupled by the mergence of China and Vietnam as
major manufacturing investment destinations. the attractiveness of the SRP,
or of the entire Cebu for that matter, waned, and by 2003 foreign direct
investments dried up. luckily, IT-related industries and call centers peaked
up which replaced the dwindling manufacturing FGI's ...

that's the reason why the SRP now is mixed-use, and partly for sale, and
why the entire development design concepts has changed since its approval
in 1995. in the old plan, it was a working place, same as MEPZ now .. today,
it will be a community ... with a mall, condominiums, university, and various
other employment opportunities ....

on the issue of Kawit:

Kawit Island is not part of the SRP. it is an island and not reclaimed. it was
not part of the original proclamation of GMA for the SRP economic zone.

originally, kawit was administered by DOH. in 2007, we managed to ask GMA
to proclaim it as owned by the City of Cebu. DOH agreed on the condition
that it be given a portion of the SRP in return. that's why we have a DOH
lot (2 hectares) very near the UP lot.

kawit now is planned together with the SRP but it is a separate entity. it is
not for sale, but it is more geared towards cebuano cultural and social use.
that's why the senior citizens building and the ABC office is there. and check
the designs of the sr. citizens bldg and the sugbu bldg ... look at the the
wall also ... it resembles fort san pedro ...

kawit is part of SRP but not quite .... if you know what i mean ...

zidlakan

October 14th, 2009, 03:07 PM

Ideally, since SRP is envisioned as an income generating HUB, the administrators should refrain from DONATIONS or giving out parcels of lot to any party. This is my own point of view ha pero I still think it's valid. My point of comparison is Cebu Business Park. What do you think would be the reaction of the owners aka stockholders of Cebu Holdings and the parent company, Ayala Land, if the management would decide to donate lots to another party? For sure they will react negatively! Ing-ana unta sad ang pang huna-huna sa nagduma (nag manage) sa SRP. To level off the field for all players, they should be treated equally labi na karon that they are still in the Marketing phase of this project. Donating parcels of land as of this time (maski sa Kawit or sa reclaimed area jud) should be refrained. As mentioned before, it's actually sending a wrong signal to possible investors. SILA (investors) magbayad, pero ang UBAN (recipients of donation), gipanghatagan lang! If this is the case, well we can't help it if investors will say, "obviously GOBYERNO jud ang nagpadagan ani nga project"!

With everything that has been said in the first paragraph, even UP donation is actually questionable! YES, there are facilities that are necessary so that this project will be a 1 stop shop in the future but the best that the administrators can do is INVITE locators and not give them parcels of land! Look at Bonifacio Global City, they're able to CONVINCE Saint Luke's to put up another hospital within the Fort, pero gihatag lang ba sa St. Luke's kanang luna nga gitukuran sa ilang hospital? I don't think so!

yes. ideally. IF the SRP is envisioned as an income generating HUB ...

incidentally, it was not. from the moment it was conceptualized in 1989, until
today, income generation for the cebu city government is not the primordial
development goal, objective, or policy. this may come as a surprise to some
but this has been repeated many times by the mayor. there will be financial
gain, for sure, BUT, this is not the primary consideration ....

thus, the Cebu Business Park is not an appropriate point of comparison be-
cause the cebu business park was built for profit by a private corporation
and its business objective is obliquely different from the SRP.

i'd like to explain in detail the core development strategy but it will take some
time, so if it's okay, i'll do the explanation on saturday na, ha ... i'm still tired
from a very bumpy flight from manila ....

ivanc

October 14th, 2009, 03:53 PM

bakasaurus

October 14th, 2009, 04:06 PM

Kung dili mo donate ug yuta ang cebu city sa UP, i doubt kung wiling ba sad mo sukol ang UP sa P15K per sqm nga lot price... so for the city to realize its dream of having a educational facility at SRP, it has to shell out something, which in this case is a lot donation.. and also, if you think about it diba mura ra man siyag nahulog sad ug JOINT VENTURE between UP and City Hall?? Cebu city provides the lot, UP builds the school...

True. And why would it be unfair? UP is owned by the government. The Cebu City donates something to the government. No fuss there I think. Of course, if its a private school, it would be a different story.

I was also under the impression that SRP was not a second CBP or AITP. When the holistic planning for a global city was sounded out, I started expecting something much more than a business park. I started to entertain my fancies of an area of the city which would elevate Cebu to a truly international city, which would show us what a great city ought to look like and operate (in terms of infra, transportation, balanced technology and environment, and a high quality of living with ample public space and modern comfort, some nooks to find peace of mind, nourishment for the soul).

kenken94

October 14th, 2009, 04:14 PM

Major call centers seen expanding to Cebu in 2010
By MALOU M. MOZO
October 7, 2009, 5:16pm
http://www.mb.com.ph/node/223638/major-call-center

CEBU CITY – As talks of recovery run rife among such global economic players as the United States and Europe, renewed confidence in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector is expected to have major call centers in the country expanding their operations to Cebu.

Joel Mari Yu, Managing Director of Metro Cebu’s marketing arm, the Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC), said the BPO industry has proven to be among the resilient sectors during the global financial crisis which peaked last year. And this time, he said, industry players are bullish about expanding outside Metro Manila.

“There has been an increasing number of call centers located in Cebu, and in fact the City ranks fourth in the country in terms of having the most number of major call centers,” Yu said, citing information from the Call Center Directory of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

Yu quoted PEZA data, which indicated that Metro Cebu has 44 major call centers vis-à-vis Quezon City, with 77 major call centers, Ortigas City with 141 and Makati City with 274. The Philippines has a total of 788 major call centers spread across 20 locations nationwide.

Although Yu declined to comment on the possible number of call centers coming to Cebu by 2010 as some are presently under negotiations, he voiced optimism that as soon as the global economy “normalizes,” Metro Cebu will see the mushrooming of more call centers and foreign investors coming to the city.

Yu pointed to Cebu’s strong pool of qualified personnel suited for the call center industry which, he said, has become its edge in attracting major call centers to expand here.

Cebu may produce an average of only 23,000 graduates per year, as compared with Manila’s average of 145,000 graduates, but most of these graduates are easily absorbed by call center companies and other BPO firms because the local industry has not yet reached saturation point.

Apart from competent manpower supply, Yu also credited Cebu’s “friendly business environment” and ready-infrastructure. “Cebu is both a business and leisure capital. You may be in the heart of the City and next thing you know, or 20-minutes later, you’re enjoying the beach or upland breeze,” he added.

In a related interview, Armenia Ballesteros, head of Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II Jobs Team, said what has encouraged call centers to continue sprouting in Cebu is that the city has provided international flights, making the entry and exit points convenient for foreign investors.

She also noted that generally, the booming BPO industry in the Philippines has afforded job alternatives for Filipinos, thus reducing an exodus of local talents leaving the country to work abroad.

“We have lost so many of our highly competent workers who have found jobs in foreign countries. That is why we have the BPO industry to thank because our local talents are highly compensated while working here,” Ballesteros said.

Industry reviews noted that since the year 2000, the call center industry in the country has been rapidly growing in terms of revenue and employment. It has contributed 12 percent to the country’s gross national product and has been one of the biggest sources of employment for Filipinos.:cheers:

kenken94

October 14th, 2009, 04:19 PM

^^
Hahaha............ hedge nalang ang ipamutang sa SRP uie!:lol: Naabot na nuon ko'g breeding... lolz........:lol::nuts::lol:

<---------------------------------------------------->

Nganong sa kada sadzop naho............ sila man day'ng duha'ng magkatawa?:lol::nuts::lol:
:nocrook::nocrook::nocrook::nocrook::nocrook:

diehardbisdak

October 14th, 2009, 04:21 PM

^ wala ka nasadyop @ken...it happens that you are a natural joker! heheh!

bakasaurus

October 14th, 2009, 05:12 PM

Hahaha. Alegreha ninyo dodong kenken ug masterdiehard.:lol:

Anyway, about plants na pod. Hehe. Naa bitaw Palawan Cherry, ug diay mga photos nga akoang nautingkay kato ni paglaag2x namo sa Palawan. Naa pod koy seeds ani sa amoang balay,akoang gipatanom sa akong igsuon.hehe.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e155/bakatan/IMG_6887.jpg?t=1255533085

diehardbisdak

October 14th, 2009, 05:17 PM

^ hoy, cow! ...ayaw ko tawga og "master" ka'y na-a ra ba'y ni-react...LOL! diehard na lang...

bakasaurus

October 14th, 2009, 05:31 PM

^ hoy, cow! ...ayaw ko tawga og "master" ka'y na-a ra ba'y ni-react...LOL! diehard na lang...

Ok ra na oi. Ako baya nagpasiugda anang master nimo nga title. Akoa na lang panindigan. Hehe.

Dia pa gyud..naa pay models ako mga barkada ra pod.:lol:

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e155/bakatan/IMG_6499.jpg?t=1255533955

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e155/bakatan/IMG_6884.jpg?t=1255534196

Nindot bitaw ni itanom ug laray kay mura ra man cya ug acacia ang punoan. Unya inig bloom ani sa summer, haskang nindota tanawn.

Sinjin P.

October 14th, 2009, 05:34 PM

OT napod for the new thread. Pasensya.

http://www.sinjin.ph/images/VOTE.jpg

more info here (http://www.sinjin.ph/events/surprise-surprise-sinjins-house-is-a-nominee-for-chikkas-readers-choice-visayas-philippine-blog-awards-2009/)

maayomo

October 14th, 2009, 07:07 PM

^^ ^^

I think i Wrote a colum on what to do with Fort San Pedro. Here it is:

Home » Cebu Daily News » Opinion
Past Forward
Fort San Pedro as a war memorial?
By Jobers Bersales
Cebu Daily News First Posted 12:23:00 09/10/2009

I heard over the heritage grapevine that Cebu City officials are looking for help from the National Museum to put up a museum at Fort San Pedro. This, after the National Museum Branch there had moved to Museo Sugbo, the Cebu provincial museum that now occupies the former provincial jail.

Here is one unsolicited advice just in case it has not been decided yet what kind of museum befits the fort: a memorial to WW II and the war against Spain and the Americans.

People who read and understand their history know the pivotal role that Fort San Pedro played immediately after the Tres de Abril uprising that finally ushered in the Revolution of 1898 in Cebu. It was at the Fort that the Spaniards and their Cebuano loyalists hid for days among scores of the guardia civil and voluntarios leales until reinforcements arrived from Iloilo. It was also at the Fort that the American invaders on board the gunboat Petrel negotiated the surrender under protest of the Republican forces led by Luis Flores in February 1899, much to the disdain of Generals Arcadio Maxilom and Juan Climaco. It was there for the first time that the United States flag, not yet the fifty stars it has today, was raised, bringing Cebu effectively under the wing of the nascent American empire.

When many of the Cebuano revolutionaries, members of the fledgling Ejercito Filipino, the young army of the short-lived Malolos Republic, refused to surrender and waged war against the American invaders, it was at the Fort were they were incarcerated. Sen. Vicente Sotto used the penname “Kutta” precisely to announce that he too was incarcerated in the fort for his political views critical of the early American occupation. Gregorio Abellana, father of the late city councilor Jovito Abellana whose mementos are currently on display at Museo Sugbo, was also incarcerated there together with countless other unnamed Cebuanos who would later form the local branch of the Veteranos de la Revolucion.

As Cebuanos began to accept the inevitability of American rule, the Fort reverted to its original purpose: defense. It was here that officers of the local branch of the Philippine Scouts, and later the Philippine Constabulary, as well as their American counterparts held office until the outbreak of WW II. And when the Japanese came, the fort became a large garrison, used by the Japanese also for defense.

The fort is therefore replete with the stench, the suffering and the bitterness of war. It is but apt to put up some remembrance of the many battles it witnessed, not just WW II but also the uprising against Spain and the war against the Americans.

For starters, it would be to the best interest of everyone if the inner chambers that line the entire wall of the fort are reopened and searched for the remnants of Spanish armor, lances and swords which my good friend Carlos “Caloy” Apuhin, BPI senior manager at the branch across Plaza Sugbu, intimated to me that he saw when he was still in ROTC years back around 1970. No stranger to heritage work and advocacy, Caloy can surely help point out to city officials, especially the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission where the purported sealed doors of these inner chambers are located.

There is a war memorial gallery at Museo Sugbo, dedicated to Gov. Andres Abellana and all other Cebuanos who were killed by the Japanese in WW II. An entire edifice like the Fort, dedicated solely to reminding this and the future generations to always keep the peace and abhor wars is but fitting for a city that has no concrete reminders of those painfully difficult years its people had to endure. I am sure even the Japanese government would be happy to help set up such a war museum. There is no better time to do this than now. For time is running out; more and more war veterans are slowly fading away.

Singit lang ni nako. Just in case you guys weren't aware, wala nay museum nahabilin sa Fort San Pedro. Ang Fort nalang mismo and the "garden." Sayang. I hope something can be done about this.

federalist

October 14th, 2009, 08:23 PM

^^mga migs I have a question, is there a hotel near/just beside Cebu port that's affordable and clean?:) family oriented not short time...hehehe.

Hotel Pier Cuatro near D' Inn Motel.

jsl_bxu1206

October 14th, 2009, 08:31 PM

Capitol ‘sure’ that Balili can pay P37.8M refund
Thursday, October 15, 2009

By Gerome M. Dalipe and Jujemay G. Awit

THE Capitol is satisfied with the accounting that Atty. Romeo Balili, executor of the estate of Luis J. Balili, provided the court.

Now the Province knows for a fact that it can still get back P37.8 million, representing payment for the areas sold to Capitol that turned out to be submerged or covered with mangroves.

Of the P98.9 million that the Province paid for the 25-hectare Balili lot in Tinaan, City of Naga, P82.7 million remains intact. Only over P43 million, though, is considered cash on hand because P24 million was invested and P15.5 million was already advanced by Amparo Balili.

“Technically, this does not make us nervous because Amparo is entitled to half of the property,” Capitol consultant on information and revenue generation Rory Jon Sepulveda told reporters yesterday.

He explained that they can still go after the refund from the cash on hand, investment and even the interest on the investment.

But Sepulveda, a lawyer, said the process of investing and giving the widow an advance could be questioned because those did not have the authority of the court while the money was still “under custody of the law.”

“It is questionable as a matter of formality but the court can ratify it if it is justified,” said Sepulveda.

The consultant also said the Capitol will continue to ask for a refund and develop the property at the same time. The Capitol already applied for an endorsement from the City of Naga for the conversion of the Balili property into an economic zone.

Naga Mayor Valdemar Chiong referred the matter to the city council.

If the Balilis will not pay, then the Capitol would be constrained to file a case before the regular courts.

When it asked the court for an accounting of the Balili sales proceeds, the Province also gave notice to the court that it will be seeking a refund from the Balilis.

Of the P98.9 million the Province paid, some P43.1 million remains as cash on hand, said Atty. Balili in a report submitted to the Regional Trial Court this week. About P24 million was invested, while Amparo advanced some P15.5 million.

Atty. Balili also explained that he already opened a joint savings account with Banco de Oro, in the name of the Estate of Luis Balili and Amparo Balili. This was in compliance with the court’s order last Sept. 25. At present, the current balance stands at P43.17 million.

Of the Capitol’s payment, some P4.7 million was paid in broker’s fees.

Judge Ester Veloso had ordered the executor to explain why the proceeds were deposited “in his name and that of Amparo Balili” and to account for the funds.

At the start, Balili said he and Amparo opened a savings account in the name of the Estate of Luis Balili.

But the first check issued by the Province was rejected by the bank’s computer “in view of the variance in the names of the payees and the depositor.”

That’s when the bank suggested that a joint savings account be opened in the names of the executor and Amparo Balili, Atty. Balili said. Subsequently, the first savings account was closed.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/capitol-%E2%80%98sure%E2%80%99-balili-can-pay-p378m-refund

jsl_bxu1206

October 14th, 2009, 08:33 PM

Inventor turns motorcycle into jet ski
Wednesday, October 14, 2009

By Nancy R. Cudis

A CEBUANO inventor has turned a motorcycle into the driving engine of a jet ski.

Consolacion-based engineer Noro Camomot placed an ordinary motorcycle on a floater or ski he designed and made. This allows the motorcycle to operate on water.

This motorcycle can easily be removed from the floater and be used for transportation on land again.

His invention, called the motorcycle-driven jet ski, won first prize in the recently-concluded Visayan Island Invention Exhibit Festival organized by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Another invention he conceptualized and designed, the Noro Wave Power Barge (NJ-8), won second prize in the same competition.

“The huge number of motorcycle units in Cebu and in the country made me interested in expanding their economic applications not only on land but also on water,” Camomot said.

In an interview, he explained that when the motorcycle is attached to the floater, the vehicle's rear wheel drives the propeller while its steering bar is used to maneuver the direction of the floater.

“This type of Jet Ski is simple, low-cost, and provides flexibility. The motorcycle can already be applied both in land and sea,” he said.

His invention has already caught the attention of a Manila-based businessman who knew about the unique jet ski through the Technology Application and Promotion Institute of the DOST.

Camomot disclosed that this businessman wants to invest on putting up a plant in Cebu for mass production of the motorcycle-driven jet ski and produce 50 units on the first month of operations for distribution in some Metro Manila areas severely affected by typhoon Ondoy.

The had met with this potential investor last weekend, but he said this plan has not yet been finalized.

The motorcycle-driven jet ski, Camomot said, is cheaper and a better alternative than the standard jet ski. He estimated his invention to cost only about 20 percent of the cost of the standard jet ski models.

One floater, without the motorcycle, would cost P150,000. But if the buyer wants mass production of floaters, he can get P120,000 per unit.

Camomot added that the operation and maintenance costs are low since all parts are locally available. His jet ski can also hold about six to eight persons and is fit for sea travel with family or friends.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/inventor-turns-motorcycle-jet-ski

LordCarnal

October 14th, 2009, 08:38 PM

I forgot to post this one before diay, the swimming pool of Crown Regency Hotel.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/ssc_update_02_02.jpg

Crown Regency Hotel

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/IMG_0212.jpg

LordCarnal

October 14th, 2009, 08:42 PM

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/cebumetropolitancathedral.jpg

The Cathedral Museum of Cebu
- Entrance is P50
- The museum also boasts of a garden where you can host wedding receptions, etc. If I'm not mistaken, the fee is P10k. Needs to be clarified though but it's definitely much cheaper than in Fort San Pedro.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/cathedralmuseum.jpg

dive-cebu

October 15th, 2009, 02:01 AM

thanks for enlightening me (or us) on this sir paul. now i understand why the city government's actions are not that aligned with my purely business orientation. i just got a reaffirmation to my decision that i wont be working with the philippine government (national or local)... thanks again.

yes. ideally. IF the SRP is envisioned as an income generating HUB ...

incidentally, it was not. from the moment it was conceptualized in 1989, until
today, income generation for the cebu city government is not the primordial
development goal, objective, or policy. this may come as a surprise to some
but this has been repeated many times by the mayor. there will be financial
gain, for sure, BUT, this is not the primary consideration ....

thus, the Cebu Business Park is not an appropriate point of comparison be-
cause the cebu business park was built for profit by a private corporation
and its business objective is obliquely different from the SRP.

i'd like to explain in detail the core development strategy but it will take some
time, so if it's okay, i'll do the explanation on saturday na, ha ... i'm still tired
from a very bumpy flight from manila ....

zidlakan

October 15th, 2009, 02:08 AM

00i'd like to explain in detail the core development strategy but it will take some
time, so if it's okay, i'll do the explanation on saturday na, ha ... i'm still tired
from a very bumpy flight from manila ....

let me do it by parts ...

the first part will be ...

A. what is the business objective of an ordinary/traditional reclamation project?

here, we're talking about almost all major reclamation projects in the country
since the 1950's. these include all the reclamations in manila, the cebu north
recla and the mandaue recla. it is significant to note that the SRP is the only
major reclamation project in the country which is totally implemented by govt.
and by a local government unit (LGU) at that. when i say "major," i mean
except those small reclamations - 1 hectare, 2 has., less than 1 hectare, that
some LGUs do implement in many parts of the country. i mean reclamations
the size of SRP. NRA, Mandaue Recla, and the hude reclamation along Manila
Bay fronting the coastline of metro manila.

here are the basic premises ...

1. all foreshore, offshore, and submerged and underwater land is owned by
the state.

as such, only the national government, through the office of the president,
and through any offices it delegates the power to - public estates authority
(PEA) before, and philippine reclamation authority (PRA) now, has the power
to reclaim. however, the local government code allows, cities and provinces
to reclaim IF THEY ARE USING THEIR OWN FUNDS.

historically, the national government does not have the initial capital to
reclaim. so most, if not all reclamations are done by the private sector.

2. national government may enter into a contract with a private investor
for the latter to do a reclaimation. theoritically, they can do this by paying
the private investor/contractor to reclaim. but since they don't have the
funds, they pay the private developer with shares of the reclaimed land. the
usual sharing is 15% - 20% government, 80% - 85% private developer. this
may seem unfair to some, but actually it is not. it is expensive to reclaim
and the private developer use their own capital and usually borrows pa. this
is the model for NRA (PEA - Cebu Development Corporation) and the mandaue
reclamation (PEA - F.F. Cruz). both the government and the private develo-
per can do whatever it wants with their shares, however, this is usually
subject to an agreed plan approved before the start of the project. usually
also, the local government also shares in the gov't share but the sharing
between national and local is not fixed - depende sa sabot during discussions.
that's why we have lots at the NRA and mandaue city has lots at the
mandaue recla.

i said, "the national government may enter into a contract with a private
investor ..." however, usually, it's not the case of a gov't initiative. it's the
private investor who makes the offer and PEA/PRA evaluates the proposal
and enter into MOA when it is approved by the PEA/PRA board.

3. private developers go into reclamation projects AS A REAL ESTATE busi-
ness project. thus, the primary objective is profit. in almost all cases, it
borrows heavily to finance a reclamation project, and sells the land as fast
as it could to cover the amortizations and make a margin. the rule of thumb
is (this is inside information, he he he) ... during feasibility studies, the projec-
ted selling price should be around 6 times the actual construction cost. that
way, after imputing all the other development costs, cost of money, interest
payment, share of government, etc., etc., the private investor can double
his initial investment.

bottom line: financing, and marketing is key - lots should be disposed as fast
as possible. that's why many reclamation land are PRE-SOLD, and sometimes
at discounted prices. land inventory management is important.

this is the very reason why SM wanted to buy the entire property and assume
the loan!!!!!! the SRP construction cost is very very low, the lowest so far
i've encountered. AND, the SRP loan is a concessional one - 2.75% (JBIC) or
effectively 5.5% (Land Bank) for 30 years! if it was a private corporation,
you get commercial rates (12% - 16%) for 5 to 7 years! SM wanted to
assume the loan and sell the property (keeping enough for its own business).
you can't blame them, they're businessmen. and you can't blame mayor
osmena for saying NO WAY.

this is NOT the development model of the SRP ....

(to be continued ...)

kenken94

October 15th, 2009, 02:39 AM

^^
Oh, so SM wants the loan to be able to save some funds for it's own business. They sure are business minded and it's just good that Tommy 'O gave them a no-no (also for the City's business, right?).

SleMarKen

October 15th, 2009, 04:31 AM

@Sir Zid... Bumpy? WooooooooW, kewl... I lab it...

slimer

October 15th, 2009, 04:53 AM

JPMorgan Chase & Co., one of the leading financial services firms in the world is setting up its latest expansion in the Philippines. The newest captive location is in Cebu. :okay: not the bank per se, more on offshore operations.

i heard about this too. nya ang sweldo daw sa mga agents ani kay :gossip:P30k daw... nya nag-interview na sila sa mga agents nga nag-handle sa ilang account sa usa sa mga call center diri nga i heard ilang i-pull out kay establish silag ilaha...

viva la raza

October 15th, 2009, 05:05 AM

i heard about this too. nya ang sweldo daw sa mga agents ani kay :gossip:P30k daw... nya nag-interview na sila sa mga agents nga nag-handle sa ilang account sa usa sa mga call center diri nga i heard ilang i-pull out kay establish silag ilaha...

This is good news. we need more jobs here in Cebu...... karon naa na pud mga october graduates, dugang na pud ni sa workforce, pang puno sa statistics.....

SleMarKen

October 15th, 2009, 05:08 AM

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b105/cebupics2/cebu_thread.jpg

AmbutLang

October 15th, 2009, 05:36 AM

i heard about this too. nya ang sweldo daw sa mga agents ani kay :gossip:P30k daw... nya nag-interview na sila sa mga agents nga nag-handle sa ilang account sa usa sa mga call center diri nga i heard ilang i-pull out kay establish silag ilaha...

It a bargain for JP Chase Morgan for that salary. The usual office salary is $15/hr here sa NYC with medical insurance. It will be equivalent to one week salary diri pero we spend in dollar pud. Ang nurses basic pay is about $25/hr and up depende sa hospital but mostly more. :) Remember our overall taxes, SSS, medical insurance and other deductibles will end up almost 40% of your gross income.
If I was paid that amount in Cebu, dili nalang ko ari sa US oi.

Henz

October 15th, 2009, 07:02 AM

It a bargain for JP Chase Morgan for that salary. The usual office salary is $15/hr here sa NYC with medical insurance. It will be equivalent to one week salary diri pero we spend in dollar pud. Ang nurses basic pay is about $25/hr and up depende sa hospital but mostly more. :) Remember our overall taxes, SSS, medical insurance and other deductibles will end up almost 40% of your gross income.
If I was paid that amount in Cebu, dili nalang ko ari sa US oi.

Hala balik na dire bai.........

Call Center Expansion.....

Could this include the second site in Cebu of Teletech... hmmmm
I hope Sitel Phils. will also check out Cebu on its expansion programs next year.

c6josh

October 15th, 2009, 07:19 AM

sugbutel - http://www.sugbutel.com/

^^thank you bai for the link, I will look into this....:)

Zuburbia

October 15th, 2009, 08:49 AM

kanang fire tree ba nindot pod tan-awon kanang mamuwak og orange..mamuwak na og daghan inig summer...naay part sa boyscout camp and camp marina nga colorful kayo inig summer kay daghan kayo og fire tree and kanang puno-an nga mamuwak og yellow, ambot unsa na....nice kaayo tan-awon...hehe!

SleMarKen

October 15th, 2009, 08:51 AM

^^asa na gud ka, sige man kag suroy...lol

vicven2

October 15th, 2009, 08:56 AM

Isn't JP Morgan Chase a client of People Support?
I hear they're already wooing agents from Convergys and Etel.
Hala balik na dire bai.........

Call Center Expansion.....

Could this include the second site in Cebu of Teletech... hmmmm
I hope Sitel Phils. will also check out Cebu on its expansion programs next year.

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 09:16 AM

^ i think that's what @slimer was talking about...

leylander

October 15th, 2009, 09:31 AM

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2553/3999711733_c21228a5ce_b.jpg

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 09:42 AM

^ sagbot man na nga tag-as bai...heheh! ...unsa gani tawag ana?

leylander

October 15th, 2009, 09:44 AM

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3504/3979321011_cc97812a2a_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3435/3980084698_7098da7591_b.jpg

leylander

October 15th, 2009, 09:50 AM

sagbot. pero srp gihapon na oi. hahaha. ambot unsay name ana. ninbot baya siya tan-awon while magdrive diha. hehe

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 10:22 AM

^ nice bai...unsa imo gamit @ley?

leylander

October 15th, 2009, 10:26 AM

mao ra gihapon @diehard...

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 10:41 AM

^ something like or sounds like "pilapil"

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 11:26 AM

^ pwera buyag...green na kaayo ang Cebu!

edit: by the way, unsa'y English sa "pwera buyag"? lol!

dive-cebu

October 15th, 2009, 12:01 PM

^^ knock on wood...

zeos

October 15th, 2009, 12:35 PM

SleMarKen

October 15th, 2009, 12:44 PM

^^yup, kita ko ato... Kato pa sad ko kbaw nga mo supply sad ang Cebu sa Manila...

Henz

October 15th, 2009, 12:51 PM

i was watching news a few days ago, there was this flower vendor in manila na nagkaproblema sa supplies niya ng flowers, ingon siya, buti na lang daw may dumating na supplies ng flowers na galing cebu. karon lang ko nakabalo nga naga supply pala ng flowers ang cebu sa manila. nice to know. :cheers:

yes bai.. FYI.. Cebu is one of the major cutflower suppliers in the country...Cutflowers are being exported to Bacolod, Iloilo, Manila, Cagayan etc.

Cutflower industry is actually one of the emerging industry of Cebu today.^^ You can find the cutflower industry in the mountains of Cebu City.

zeos

October 15th, 2009, 12:55 PM

^^ gi export gyud? tuluyan na bang humiwalay ang cebu sa pilipinas? :lol:

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 03:12 PM

^ lol!

gtjr

October 15th, 2009, 03:26 PM

flowers sa babag cebu city na kuhaa

slimer

October 15th, 2009, 03:35 PM

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3435/3980084698_7098da7591_b.jpg

tag-an-tag-an lang...

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/5246/fuentetraingle.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/i/fuentetraingle.jpg/)

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 03:59 PM

^^ knock on wood...

thanks @dive...the only difference sa atoa ka'y na-a ma'y sagul laway inig ingon "pwera buyag"...LOL!

rau

October 15th, 2009, 06:31 PM

Gullas: NEDA chief gives nod to LRT plan in Cebu (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=514643&publicationSubCategoryId=107#)
(The Freeman) Updated October 16, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - The director general of the National Economic Development Authority has committed the approval of the Cebu Light Rail Transit System before the agency’s investment coordination committee.

Cebu 1st District Rep. Eduardo Gullas said he got the commitment from NEDA director general Augusto Santos when the latter appeared before them during the budget hearing.

“He gave his commitment to me,” Gullas told The FREEMAN in a telephone interview last night.

Gullas said he is also working for the endorsement of the project from the three local governments of the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Talisay.

According to Gullas, the endorsements from the mayors of the three cities including a resolution from the city councils of these LGUs are needed for the project to be implemented.

Gullas said he is confident that he will not be having difficulty in securing the endorsements from Mayors Tomas Osmeña, Jonas Cortes and Socrates Fernandez and their respective city councils.

Although Gullas and Osmeña had been at odds because of the claims of Talisay City in the South Reclamation Project, Gullas said they have agreed to set aside their personal differences and cooperate for the realization of the project.

“We believe that a light rail transport system will greatly solve the worsening traffic situation, help the greater mass of our people, who are poor in their mobility and enhance tremendously the growth, development and progress of Cebu,” Gullas said.

Gullas said that as soon as the endorsements from the three LGUs are ready the project proposal will be submitted for approval by the Regional Development Council chaired by Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

Gullas said he will personally appear before the RDC to defend the project. He however said he already got the assurance that it will be approved by the RDC next month and will be endorsed to the NEDA-Investment Coordination Committee.

Gullas said that with the commitment of Santos to pass the project before the NEDA-ICC he already consider it as “done.”

In fact, on November 5 the Cebu Railway Project Office will be established already at the Cebu Business Park with the budget of P13.2 million.

The establishment of the CRPO was based on the Executive Order 536 issued by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on May 25, 2006.

The proponent of the project, AMA Group Holdings, Inc., is also scheduled to make a presentation on Saturday at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel with the local officials and other stakeholders.

Gullas said that he is confident that in two years time the ground works for the project will already start. Gullas said the president earlier gave her imprimatur to the project.

In fact, it was President Arroyo who ordered the allocation of P100 million for the feasibility study of the light railway project in Cebu and Mindanao.

The result of the feasibility study was already endorsed by NEDA deputy director general Rolando Tumpalan to regional director Marlene Rodriguez.

Gullas said they are just waiting for the endorsements from the local government units.

Gullas authored the Bills for the establishment of the Cebu Light Rail Transit System. He first filed a Bill for the purpose 13 years ago.

House Bill 7479 was filed on July 9, 1996 but was not approved. Gullas refiled the Bill in the 11th and 13th Congress but were not also approved.

The Bill proposed for the operation of the LRT from Talisay City to Mandaue City. It likewise proposed for the ordinary railway from Talisay City to Dalaguete in the south and from Mandaue City to Sogod in the north. — Fred P. Languido/NLQ (FREEMAN NEWS)

rau

October 15th, 2009, 06:41 PM

Gullas bares agency commitment for multibillion-peso Cebu railway project (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/gullas-bares-agency-commitment-multibillion-peso-cebu-railway-project)
By Garry A. Cabotaje

IN five years, Cebu will have its own light rail transportation similar to those in Manila, Rep. Eduardo R. Gullas (Cebu, 1st district) said yesterday.

Gullas said he secured last Wednesday the commitment of National Economic Development Authority (Neda) Secretary Augusto Santos to approve the creation of a Cebu Railway Project Office (CRPO).

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

“From here, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Gullas in an interview.

Gullas has been pushing for the establishment of an LRT system in Cebu since the 10th Congress.

Though it has been 12 years since he filed the original House Bill 7479 in 1996, the non-approval of his proposal has not dissuaded Gullas from filing the same bill in the present Congress.

Viable

With minor modifications, Gullas again filed HB 310 on July 2, 2007, which seeks the establishment of a Cebu LRT system that will operate in Metro Cebu.

Gullas described Cebu cities as the most viable highly-urbanized cities next to Manila to have the multi-billion railway project.

The project is seen to ease the worsening traffic congestion in Metro Cebu and keep pace with the province’s growing population and economy.

In compliance with Neda’s requirements, Gullas will have to secure endorsements, through approved resolutions, of the cities of Talisay, Cebu and Mandaue.

The endorsements would be sent to the Regional Development Council 7 before these will be forwarded to the Neda-Investment Coordinating Committee (ICC) and finally to the Neda board, chaired by President Arroyo, for approval.

Other documents that need to be submitted to the Neda hierarchy are the funding scheme and the detailed engineering study of the project.

Gullas said the setting up of the Cebu railway office does not have to wait for the approval of his HB 310 in Congress.

The bill’s approval is to give the project a “legislative imprimatur,” he said.

Study

Upon the request of Gullas, Malacañang has already released P100 million for the feasibility study formulating the strategic railway development plan for Cebu.

Transportation Undersecretary Guiling Mamondiong will meet with the project stakeholders at Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu City tomorrow afternoon.

The Europe-based AMA Group Holdings Corp., the project’s main proponent through a build-operate-transfer scheme, will also brief local officials about the project.

In Gullas’ proposal, the AMA Group will construct the three-phased LRT system that would run through Metro Cebu, from Dalaguete in the south to Sogod in the north.

The LRT’s line 1 or backbone line will start from Talisay City to Mandaue City, covering 19 kilometers.

To save funds, the railway will traverse the national highway to Cebu City and head straight to Mandaue City.

LRT stations will also be set up along the way in areas where people usually converge.

Line 2 will also start from Talisay City down to the southern town of Dalaguete, instead of Carcar town, while the last line will take off from Mandaue City and end up in the northern Sogod town instead of Danao City.

Since the LRT will be constructed in Metro Cebu’s major thoroughfares, the government will no longer have to negotiate for a road-right-of-way.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 16, 2009.

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 07:01 PM

^ ano ba talaga kuya? BRT or LRT?

...sana, may access ang SSC lakawboyz sa project presentation at Waterfront Hotel on Saturday, 17 October... :okay:

federalist

October 15th, 2009, 07:03 PM

this is good news. Cong EddieGul is very active bout this. Go LRT! BRT and LRT are both good for Cebu. bahala unsay mauna.

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 07:06 PM

SleMarKen

October 15th, 2009, 07:07 PM

^^I believe in Milacors, aw Miracles :D

Sleepwalker

October 15th, 2009, 07:19 PM

Jimbu

October 15th, 2009, 07:22 PM

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 07:24 PM

^^ mag day dreaming sa ta gamay beh...maka-imagination na ko kung unsa'y sound sa P.A. when i'm arriving at my station in Talisay...hahahah! ...saun na lang! LOL!

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 07:29 PM

^ by the way, why man need ang endorsement sa Lapulapu nga dili man moagi ang LRT sa syudad nila...heheh!

Jimbu

October 15th, 2009, 07:40 PM

^ by the way, why man need ang endorsement sa Lapulapu nga dili man moagi ang LRT sa syudad nila...heheh!

way apil Lapulapu bai ingon Gullas :)

In compliance with Neda’s requirements, Gullas will have to secure endorsements, through approved resolutions, of the cities of Talisay, Cebu and Mandaue.

SleMarKen

October 15th, 2009, 07:41 PM

D_RiGG2Tp7U

leylander

October 15th, 2009, 07:41 PM

let's just prepare ourselves for another round of interesting nicknames like 'zorra,' 'drag lord,' 'queen of darkness,' 'tomcat,' ug uban pa. hahahaahah.

this should be fun. and annoying.

Sleepwalker

October 15th, 2009, 07:44 PM

Excited ko sa meeting unya nila aning LRT...Heheheh

Unsa kaha resulta ani no?

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 08:23 PM

way apil Lapulapu bai ingon Gullas :)

...hahah...o diay no..naghuna huna na hinuon ko kung unsaon paglabang sa tracks to Mactan...heheh!

diehardbisdak

October 15th, 2009, 08:32 PM

^ i just hope nga matinuod ni...basin akong negosyo (pohon)..mag-tenant na lang ko sa usa sa mga stations....heheheh...why not? LOL!

junjou_rabbit

October 15th, 2009, 08:47 PM

cebu has improved a lot!>..last april lang ako anjan tas ngayon lapit ng matapos ang cybergate..bilis!!...

anyhoo...
is it BRT or LRT?...

zidlakan

October 16th, 2009, 01:26 AM

^ ano ba talaga kuya? BRT or LRT?

...sana, may access ang SSC lakawboyz sa project presentation at Waterfront Hotel on Saturday, 17 October... :okay:

i'll try to check what's the protocol of the saturday meeting. i might be atten-
ding but i have to talk to TRO first.

well, as far as i am concerned, i am but very disappointed with this turn of
events. it seems as it gullas was using his political clout in bulldozing his "pet"
project instead of presenting sensible and convincing technical arguments that
it's the better (and more economical) mode of public transportation. NEDA head
kuno gave his nod and committed for the approval before the the ICC. ayaw na
lang ta. unsa man diay himuon sa usa ka department secretary kung sultihan
ug usa ka congressman? nga iyang i-disapprove? wa pa gani masugdi ug
evaluate ang project ni-promise na nga i-approve? he he he. muagi pa na
ug evaluation sa infrastructure staff, then it will be elevated to the PIS or
public investment staff. if by any chance makalusot, then it will be delibera-
ted by the investment coordinating committee (ICC) technical board (TB)
before it will be submitted to the ICC - cabinet committee (CC). lastly, it
will need the approval of the NEDA board.

and that's for the first pass. naa pa na'y second pass kay BOT man.

let me be frank about my position. as a cebuano, sayon ra nako pagsulti ok
ra nang LRT - di bitaw cebu mo gasto. bahala na sila kung sobra ka mahal,
basta cebu city will not spend for it. total, we deserve that kay ang manila
gi bubuan man sad anang klasiha nga gasto.

but as a filipino, gasakit ako buot nganong mamugos man jud anang mahal nga
naa may mas affordable. di lang nako isuwat diri nganong naay daghang tao
sa gobyerno nga mamugos jud anang mahalon kay ma kiha nya ta. libre
bitaw, moingon ta. pero in the long run kita lang gihapon ang magbayad ana
kay filipino ta. unya, ang mas sakit sa akong buot, magpahimos tang mga
sugbuanun AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHER FILIPINOS! kay kita man tanan ang
magbayad including our brothers and sisters in mindanao.

pero kung naa na na, wa na sad ko'y mahimo, iluom ang sakit sa buot. ang
ako lang gikahadlokan, and i'm 90% sure of this - di na pod ni mo materialize.
since 1994 ra na si gullas ga press release anang LRT. since 1994 ra na siya
mo ingon "in the next 5 years" we will have an LRT. i worked in NEDA and i
know the ins and outs of these kinds of projects. we can wait and see. but
i know, if they will insist on this, the BRT project will be put on hold kay di
man mahimo nga 2 lines ang buhaton karun mura ta'g milyonaryo ana nga
pataka lang ug gasto. unya kung di madayon, usa pa ta mopadayon ug plano
sa BRT? ako mas hopeful man ko nga mas sayon ang realization sa BRT kay
sa LRT kay hast ang World Bank ni commit na to support.

let's see. bottom line nako, kung di mosugot si tomas sa LRT, there is no
way they can put an LRT line throught cebu city .... unless paagion sa dagat
or adto agi sa balamban ...

Wind Shear

October 16th, 2009, 01:32 AM

let's see. bottom line nako, kung di mosugot si tomas sa LRT, there is no
way they can put an LRT line throught cebu city .... unless paagion sa dagat
or adto agi sa balamban ...

The one way to kill (and IMO, most effective way) the LRT project (assuming the City Government of Cebu refused to pass the resolution) is to refuse to pass the resolution from the Municipal Government of Balamban or City Government of Toledo.

marxman

October 16th, 2009, 02:42 AM

SleMarKen

October 16th, 2009, 03:00 AM

but as a filipino, gasakit ako buot nganong mamugos man jud anang mahal nga
naa may mas affordable. di lang nako isuwat diri nganong naay daghang tao
sa gobyerno nga mamugos jud anang mahalon kay ma kiha nya ta. libre
bitaw, moingon ta. pero in the long run kita lang gihapon ang magbayad ana
kay filipino ta. unya, ang mas sakit sa akong buot, magpahimos tang mga
sugbuanun AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHER FILIPINOS! kay kita man tanan ang
magbayad including our brothers and sisters in mindanao.

...

Im with you with this Sir Paul... Dapat fair sa tanan. Yes, sige tag reklamo nga nganong sila didto sa Manila tua gibubo tanang projects AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHER FILIPINOS but here comes this LRT. As a Cebuano, magsakit gyud diay atong buot nga mogamit og kwarta sa uban para lang maharuhay ta diri sa Sugbo to the extent nga sobra ra sad nga di na gyud necessary kaayo nga to think naapay may mas barato pa, ang BRT...

marxman

October 16th, 2009, 03:04 AM

Sleepwalker

October 16th, 2009, 04:10 AM

Henz

October 16th, 2009, 04:49 AM

adto na lang na ihatag sa syudad na gustog LRT uy...........Dili na lang na ipamugos sa Cebu... kay mas gusto man nato ang BRT.. unya kung naa LRT.. dapat underground dili above ground kay di man ta ganahan ug parehas sa Manila na samok kaayo.

rustyboi

October 16th, 2009, 05:01 AM

Mao gyud ni ako gi pangutana ni Sir Paul pagka BRT Seminar. Libog ko nganu naay mga article sa LRT to be built in Cebu. Karon naa na gyud hinuon itukod nga office. :nuts: unsa man gyud, BRT or LRT?

Reality check: every Juan taking each ride in LRT and MRT in Metro Manila is subsidized by the whole Philippines. unya mag tuga-tuga pud ang Cebu magka LRT? Kinsa mo subsidize? ang-ang si Gullas. :lol:

Nindot paminawn, maka excite, let's be cautious kay mao rani maka frustrate ug maka upset nato. Kahibaw bya mo basta gobyerno, nindot paminawn inig ka proposal stage pero padung pa gani implementation, scandal dinhi, scandal didto, Balili diri, Balili didto. ang resulta? tax payers money wasted. sa Metro Manila project sa MRT extension kay pwerteng ka delay unya daghan kaayo issue... duol na gani kaayo na sa Malacanang, magkaproblema gani, unsa pa kaha diri sa Cebu nga layo ra kaayo. :ohno:

Kung unsa man gani, if madayon, I hope they will consider a MONORAIL, much leaner and cleaner to look at.

mAiNsTrEaMhunter

October 16th, 2009, 05:02 AM

^^ gi export gyud? tuluyan na bang humiwalay ang cebu sa pilipinas? :lol:

:lol::lol:...i love it! :D

RE: ako okay ra nako ang LRT pero ayaw lang gyud ipaagi sa mga gamay na dalan kay samok gyud siya tanawon. naa koy duda parehas ra gihapon na sa manila na style sa LRT maong mas maayo na kung agion man gani sa cebu city, adto ra ibutang sa SRP palihug lang.....

diba matud pa ni sir paul, initially what they plan for the BRT is within cebu city pa man kay basin unya magkaproblema sila sa mga politico sa ubang lugar so okay ra na. unya dili pud ta angay siguro maguol kay BRT is already in progress naman diba?

ang kining LRT kay within metro cebu man so okay ra. LRT for Metro Cebu and BRT for Cebu City. kanindot ra ana na naay BRT og LRT sa cebu ah. wala na gyud siguro jeepneys ana! :okay:

SleMarKen

October 16th, 2009, 05:09 AM

ANGLES 101

http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/8467/terrace10.jpg

http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/9972/terrace9.jpg

http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/5517/terrace8.jpg

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/1789/terrace7.jpg

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/3854/terrace6.jpg

SleMarKen

October 16th, 2009, 05:23 AM

ANGLES 101

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/2020/terrace5.jpg

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/8479/terrace4.jpg

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9530/terrace3.jpg

http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/376/terrace2.jpg

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/1456/terrace.jpg

Sleepwalker

October 16th, 2009, 05:53 AM

Ogtong Cave Resort in Bantayan Island, Cebu

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3046/3992682672_2bbb4f52e1.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3460/3991893715_fea8fe94ae.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3659/3992639004_aedc26dbb1.jpg

Floating Bar in Bantayan Island, Cebu

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3446/3991936257_ef4f9832f9.jpg

Monastery of Marian Monks in Sibonga, Cebu

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2675/3991946861_e882113929.jpg

China in Cebu?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2545/3991819785_8fd71660ba.jpg

**all flickr photos from beningh

hakz2007

October 16th, 2009, 06:11 AM

^^gaganda ng mga cottage....sarap magkarigos diyan....

leylander

October 16th, 2009, 06:40 AM

what's magkarigos?

AmbutLang

October 16th, 2009, 06:44 AM

what's magkarigos?

Dibana mangaligo? taganon lang ha.:)

SleMarKen

October 16th, 2009, 07:15 AM

what's magkarigos?

kaligo in Bicolano is karigo/karigos. Mangaligo = mangarigos.

AmbutLang

October 16th, 2009, 07:24 AM

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2553/3999711733_c21228a5ce_b.jpg

^^squatter. :ohno: :bash:

Eastern Dragon

October 16th, 2009, 08:07 AM

this is a good thread.

allow me to introduce myself.

I am Atty. Donn Frank C. Rabanes. Taga cebu gyud ko. I was connected with cebu holdings handling subdivision and cebu business parks. (cebu business park and asiatown IT park). 2001-2008

i left the company july last year to join the shangrila group. although i am still connected with the davide law office in cebu as junior partner.

my field though has always been planning, business development etc.

my take on the choice between lrt/BRT is that i am partial to lrt simply because it is more appropriate for our province.

buses take up a lot of space in roads which were not designed to accomodate them in the first place. second, an lrt will always be faster than a bus. period. no ifs. no buts.

i have lived in manila for about 7 years and i can safely say that having experienced what it was before nga wala pa mrt and now nga naa na MRT sa edsa.

a mass transport system is something which would make cebu city at par with other great cities in the world and in fact is one of the basis for computing the human development index.

viva la raza

October 16th, 2009, 08:18 AM

Me too. i am in favor of the lrt. almost all advanced cities in the world are using it. trains are more economical, safer and easier to maintain. if we have the resources and means, let's do it now! BTW, welcome @eastern dragon!

SleMarKen

October 16th, 2009, 08:22 AM

^^Atty. Rabanes, welcome to SSC Cebu... Join our group :okay:

Sleepwalker

October 16th, 2009, 08:22 AM

^^Welcome @Eastern Dragon...I hope you can share some juicy development projects here...Hehehehe

dive-cebu

October 16th, 2009, 08:42 AM

@ Atty Rabanes

Welcome to SSC-Cebu! you're in cebu?

rustyboi

October 16th, 2009, 08:52 AM

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b105/cebupics2/cebu_thread.jpg

^^It took a bit long for me to realize ako diay naghimo ani. I think this was in 2005. Most photos are shot by the active lakawboys during that time. Sila Sugbuanon, slemarken, etc. :okay:

rustyboi

October 16th, 2009, 08:57 AM

this is a good thread.

allow me to introduce myself.

I am Atty. Donn Frank C. Rabanes. Taga cebu gyud ko. I was connected with cebu holdings handling subdivision and cebu business parks. (cebu business park and asiatown IT park). 2001-2008

i left the company july last year to join the shangrila group. although i am still connected with the davide law office in cebu as junior partner.

my field though has always been planning, business development etc.

Hello Atty.! can we call you Donn? Para informal ta gamay :D welcome to SSC! It's nice to have you here. feel free to join our discussion! :cheers2:

a mass transport system is something which would make cebu city at par with other great cities in the world and in fact is one of the basis for computing the human development index.

^^I agree. :okay:

Me too. i am in favor of the lrt. almost all advanced cities in the world are using it. trains are more economical, safer and easier to maintain. if we have the resources and means, let's do it now! BTW, welcome @eastern dragon!

That's what bothering me. Resources. a BRT vs. LRT going on right now, which is good and just like how Zidlakan put it (on SRP lot donation for a grand Mosque debate), "this will broaden our understanding of governance and our responsibilities as citizens of this country."

Henz

October 16th, 2009, 09:01 AM

Welcome@ Eastern Dragon...

I think you must study first the BRT System which was proposed in Cebu..
It is not the ordinary buses you think of plying in the roads...

You can check out the BRT Thread and or i think some guys here would be kind enough to show you the link inorder for you to be appraised of what is the BRT.

We love to hear if you can share to us any information on the future projects of Cebu Holdings or the Ayala group here....

once again.. welcome.

hakz2007

October 16th, 2009, 09:17 AM

.... just like how Zidlakan put it (on SRP lot donation for a grand Mosque debate), "this will broaden our understanding of governance and our responsibilities as citizens of this country."

bai rusty...mrami bang kumokontra diyan regarding sa donation ng lot para sa mosque?

Eastern Dragon

October 16th, 2009, 10:06 AM

you can call me Donn bai.

Wala nako sa Cebu Holdings karon. i moved again to Manila last year.

Regarding the BRT, i remember studying it again before but I think the LRT type would still be the best.

moreso, the LRT proved to be the great difference when the floods hit the metro because an elevated lrt project will surely be protected from such type of calamities.

wala nako sa ayala karon. i am now with shang properties inc. our group owns mactan shangrila, edsa shangrila, makati shangrila and a couple of high end condos.

naa thread dinhe sad. st. francis towers located in mandaluyong.

Heavily involved ko with masterplanning communities and townships also. both for ayala and shang.

it was our team who conceptualized Amara in liloan and other projects in Vismin so mostly i interact with engineers and architects.

mura man sad kunohay ko engineer. hehe. 2 years in college engineering before i shifted.

science high school graduate sad ko diha sa labangon.

Eastern Dragon

October 16th, 2009, 10:14 AM

regarding the donation for a mosque.

i think this will not work out both for business and economic reasons, not to mention mga legal impediments.

from a business perspective, it actually makes sense to donate land for a school because it will encourage build-up. this is common business practice sa mga developers in luzon who are into township developments.

that is why you hear, ust, lasalle lyceum and all other universities branching out to the south of manila.

because land was donated to them. if they build, people will be encouraged to buy houses there for their children. in essence, this is really a business strategy premised on a correct business plan.

second, i cannot for the life of me think how the city can make money by selling the srp lots at 10k per square. I am not sure if the financial runs are as refined as what we did for cebu business park and asiatown IT park.

to give you an idea, IT park sells for about 30k per square meter taking into consideration dev cost, pre operating expenses etc. etc. etc.

I would honestly like to see how the city is going to make money out of selling the land at 10k when effectively, they are acting as developers albeit with sovereign guarantee.

metro pacific bought bonifacio at 33k per square although they were eventually forced to sell it to the ayala group.

at 10k, factoring in development cost, interest payments, does the city stand to make money?

dive-cebu

October 16th, 2009, 10:56 AM

hakz2007

October 16th, 2009, 11:00 AM

what's magkarigos?

Dibana mangaligo? taganon lang ha.:)

kaligo in Bicolano is karigo/karigos. Mangaligo = mangarigos.

yup...bai magkarigos is maligo in Bikol....thanks Slemarken...how did you know that?

federalist

October 16th, 2009, 11:05 AM

Eastern Dragon

October 16th, 2009, 11:20 AM

^^ thanks so much for sharing your thoughts bai donn... your stand on these issues reinforce my own opinion re those topics... salamat!

OT
quite personal question pero ok ra man cguro, asa ka nag law school bai?

sa san carlos ko ga law bai. batch 2005.

i was a working student though.

pero i studied in manila for college. just went back to cebu for law school and work.

mAiNsTrEaMhunter

October 16th, 2009, 11:22 AM

i'll try to check what's the protocol of the saturday meeting. i might be atten-
ding but i have to talk to TRO first.

well, as far as i am concerned, i am but very disappointed with this turn of
events. it seems as it gullas was using his political clout in bulldozing his "pet"
project instead of presenting sensible and convincing technical arguments that
it's the better (and more economical) mode of public transportation. NEDA head
kuno gave his nod and committed for the approval before the the ICC. ayaw na
lang ta. unsa man diay himuon sa usa ka department secretary kung sultihan
ug usa ka congressman? nga iyang i-disapprove? wa pa gani masugdi ug
evaluate ang project ni-promise na nga i-approve? he he he. muagi pa na
ug evaluation sa infrastructure staff, then it will be elevated to the PIS or
public investment staff. if by any chance makalusot, then it will be delibera-
ted by the investment coordinating committee (ICC) technical board (TB)
before it will be submitted to the ICC - cabinet committee (CC). lastly, it
will need the approval of the NEDA board.

and that's for the first pass. naa pa na'y second pass kay BOT man.

let me be frank about my position. as a cebuano, sayon ra nako pagsulti ok
ra nang LRT - di bitaw cebu mo gasto. bahala na sila kung sobra ka mahal,
basta cebu city will not spend for it. total, we deserve that kay ang manila
gi bubuan man sad anang klasiha nga gasto.

but as a filipino, gasakit ako buot nganong mamugos man jud anang mahal nga
naa may mas affordable. di lang nako isuwat diri nganong naay daghang tao
sa gobyerno nga mamugos jud anang mahalon kay ma kiha nya ta. libre
bitaw, moingon ta. pero in the long run kita lang gihapon ang magbayad ana
kay filipino ta. unya, ang mas sakit sa akong buot, magpahimos tang mga
sugbuanun AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHER FILIPINOS! kay kita man tanan ang
magbayad including our brothers and sisters in mindanao.

pero kung naa na na, wa na sad ko'y mahimo, iluom ang sakit sa buot. ang
ako lang gikahadlokan, and i'm 90% sure of this - di na pod ni mo materialize.
since 1994 ra na si gullas ga press release anang LRT. since 1994 ra na siya
mo ingon "in the next 5 years" we will have an LRT. i worked in NEDA and i
know the ins and outs of these kinds of projects. we can wait and see. but
i know, if they will insist on this, the BRT project will be put on hold kay di
man mahimo nga 2 lines ang buhaton karun mura ta'g milyonaryo ana nga
pataka lang ug gasto. unya kung di madayon, usa pa ta mopadayon ug plano
sa BRT? ako mas hopeful man ko nga mas sayon ang realization sa BRT kay
sa LRT kay hast ang World Bank ni commit na to support.

let's see. bottom line nako, kung di mosugot si tomas sa LRT, there is no
way they can put an LRT line throught cebu city .... unless paagion sa dagat
or adto agi sa balamban ...

hala! maapektuhan diay sir paul? hmmm :ohno::ohno:

maayo unta na parehas napud na sa 1994 na declaration in eddiegul na within 5 yrs naa nay LRT sa cebu. so pasabot maghuwat na sad tag another 5-10 years bago marealize ang maong plano mas maayo nuon kay para maimplementar na ang BRT una bago LRT.

pero sir paul, dili naman mayor si mayor tom after election next year so naay chance madayon ang LRT sa cebu unya mahold ang BRT?

Jimbu

October 16th, 2009, 02:32 PM

i think it's not the battle between BRT and LRT. and LRT here in Cebu is through the BOT, so why man ma problema ta? kanindot ra kung naay BRT nya naa pud LRT. i hope sakto si EddieGul e set aside lang sa ila political differences ni Mayor Tom.

@zidlakan, maapektohan pa diay ang BRT nga murag on the go naman na, while ang LRT kay nagsugod pa lang.

Kung naa mo invest ug LRT sa Cebu through the BOT mas maayo. Ang gikan Mandaue moagi sa highway to M.J. Cuenco then Bacalso paingon Tabunok para sa LRT. Unya ang BRT line gikan Liloan passing North Coastal Road paingon Mandaue North Reclamation to SRP then South Coastal Road hangtod na Minglanilla.

gtjr

October 16th, 2009, 02:47 PM

Kung naa mo invest ug LRT sa Cebu through the BOT mas maayo. Ang gikan Mandaue moagi sa highway to M.J. Cuenco then Bacalso paingon Tabunok para sa LRT. Unya ang BRT line gikan Liloan passing North Coastal Road paingon Mandaue North Reclamation to SRP then South Coastal Road hangtod na Minglanilla.

ang BRT with in cebu city kay project ni tomas nya LRT outside cebu city kay kang gullas

zidlakan

October 16th, 2009, 02:55 PM

hala! maapektuhan diay sir paul? hmmm :ohno::ohno:

maayo unta na parehas napud na sa 1994 na declaration in eddiegul na within 5 yrs naa nay LRT sa cebu. so pasabot maghuwat na sad tag another 5-10 years bago marealize ang maong plano mas maayo nuon kay para maimplementar na ang BRT una bago LRT.

pero sir paul, dili naman mayor si mayor tom after election next year so naay chance madayon ang LRT sa cebu unya mahold ang BRT?

i think i've explained enough in this thread and in the BRT thread the pros and
cons and why i favor the BRT. i just want that in my lifetime, cebu would
have a decent, efficient and comfortable, public transport system. one which
my son, samuel could live a good life with in the future. sure, the LRT looks
better and more chic, and "all advanced cities in the world are using it." of
course, all advanced cities in the worked developed their LRTs when BRT was
unheard of and there was no model to speak of. secondly, we are not an
advanced country, not in the next twenty or thirty years. and we are not
aiming to be an advanced country, we're aiming to be a livable city.

so i won't repeat the discourses i have before. i'll just leave it to your sensi-
bilities whether this is really what you want ...

the cebu LRT as proposed by the AMA group has the ff. details ...

total cost: US$603 Million
length: about 19 km.
it will run from tabunok, talisay to metro mall, mandaue

it's a BOT proposal - private sector will build (through equity and loan @ 1:3)

however, the national government will SUBSIDIZE its operation with an annual
inflow of US$48 Million/A YEAR!

yes that's how much the government will subsidize this LRT, US$48 Million a
year. that's US$480 Million in ten years, or US$960 Million in twenty years.
in its 25 years of concession period, it would have inputted peoples money
totaling US$1.2 BILLION into the supposedly BOT project!

here's the details for the BRT if implemented in cebu city ...

if we build THE BEST BRT in the world, we might need US$10 Million per km.

if we build a BRT similar to Bogota, Columbia, we need around US$5 Million/km.

at 15 kilometers from Bulacao to Talamban, we need US$75 Million.

one and a half years of government subsidy to the LRT would have completed
the 15 km BRT corridor. each year of subsidy to the LRT could build 10 more
kilometers of BRT a year!

worse, i don't even think this LRT will materialize -- they don't even have
financing yet! they are using the hype to attract funders. what if there
are no takers? cong. gullas say we will have an LRT in 5 years. i will say
we will not! if you believe him, go ahead ... i stand with what i believe and
will keep silent.

in the meantime ... the BRT, which i hoped will be online 4 years from now
gets stalled and dropped ... and will remain a dream. maybe after 5 years
when the LRT will not materialize, people will realize we would have better
off with the BRT and will again start planning for it. by then 10 years would
have been wasted.

... and i will tell my son, sorry samuel, they preferred the LRT ...

bakasaurus

October 16th, 2009, 03:30 PM

PhP 28.16 billion for a 19-km LRT.

PhP 3.5 billion for a 15-km BRT.

by the way, Sir Paul, asa ni gikan ang estimates of $ 48 million/year? sa subsidy cost/km ni na rate sa MRT?

ivanc

October 16th, 2009, 03:37 PM

second, i cannot for the life of me think how the city can make money by selling the srp lots at 10k per square. I am not sure if the financial runs are as refined as what we did for cebu business park and asiatown IT park.

to give you an idea, IT park sells for about 30k per square meter taking into consideration dev cost, pre operating expenses etc. etc. etc.

I would honestly like to see how the city is going to make money out of selling the land at 10k when effectively, they are acting as developers albeit with sovereign guarantee.

metro pacific bought bonifacio at 33k per square although they were eventually forced to sell it to the ayala group.

at 10k, factoring in development cost, interest payments, does the city stand to make money?

i think this was already pointed put by sir paul a few pages ago that the srp was not conceptualized to be an income generating hub...

pmarl

October 16th, 2009, 03:50 PM

why not have both LRT and BRT ? .. all the major cities have it both they even got tram lines :)

technoblaze

October 16th, 2009, 04:15 PM

Ayala Active Zone
Open na..

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/6084/dsc09899edit.jpg

http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/7258/dsc09882edit.jpg

http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/9545/dsc09884edit.jpg

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/7268/dsc09885edit.jpg

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/8839/dsc09887edit.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6523/dsc09888edit.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6971/dsc09889edit.jpg

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/6915/dsc09892edit.jpg

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/6141/dsc09893edit.jpg

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/2869/dsc09894edit.jpg

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/8920/dsc09904edit.jpg

zidlakan

October 16th, 2009, 04:19 PM

PhP 28.16 billion for a 19-km LRT.

PhP 3.5 billion for a 15-km BRT.

by the way, Sir Paul, asa ni gikan ang estimates of $ 48 million/year? sa subsidy cost/km ni na rate sa MRT?

gikan sa ila mismo'ng project document nga gisubmit nila sa DOTC. although gi
glamorized lang pagtawag --> Capacity Fee Payments kuno. sa layman's terms,
subsidy ...

why not have both LRT and BRT ? .. all the major cities have it both they even got tram lines :)

you have a 4 meter by 5 meter ordinary bedroom. a 2-HP airconditioner would
make it rather comfortable and cool. why would you install TWO (2) aircon
units?

suppose we look at cebu and design an LRT from Bogo to Santander (suppose
lang ha ...). we compute and see that the line will suffice for the next 20
to 30 years (one line means 2 railway lines, one in each direction). question:
why would you want to put up TWO railway lines (4 sets of rails, 2 in each
direction)????? that answers your question. both the LRT and BRT are public
transport systems - they carry the same passengers, have the same charac-
teristics, except for one thing - one runs on rails and one runs on wheels.
having both is an unnecessary duplication ...

as you said, major cities have both ... its because they're major cities, and
the ridership may require many lines, maybe all rail, maybe BRT, or maybe a
mix. let's face it ... cebu ... metro cebu ... is not a major city of the world
and it would be decades till we become one. we barely reach 2 million
population and we're not in the league of a megacity (10 M pop'n or more).
there are already 25 megacities in the world. at 2% population growth rate,
when do you think we can reach 10 M?

kenken94

October 16th, 2009, 04:39 PM

^^
I don't even want Cebu to have 2 Million people in the City alone, worse is to be a megacity of 10 Million. Just want Cebu to reach just 1 Million in three score years.

Why have an LRT when there's a cheaper alternative? When Cebu City isn't a major world city (there's just about 800,000 people)? When Cebu City is not in an an advanced Country or more specifically a First World Country? When the entire Filipino people except Cebuanos can utilize this system?

BRT is a good start for Cebu........ later na ang LRT kung dato na enough ug advanced na ang Pinas para ani...........

kenken94

October 16th, 2009, 04:49 PM

Can't wait to see a fully developed SRP.............

slimer

October 16th, 2009, 04:59 PM

as for me, ganahan ko sa LRT kay choi kaayo. pero valid ba na nga reason? dili.
well. mao na akong tan-aw sa LRT ha. I'm sure some of you kay mao sad na ang rason.
realistically and practically, pabor ko's BRT. nakasakay na bitaw ko'g LRT's Manila so ok na ko hehehe...

Sleepwalker

October 16th, 2009, 06:12 PM

Bridges Town Square to offer innovative market, restaurant (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/bridges-town-square-offer-innovative-market-restaurant)

BRIDGES Town Square will have its soft opening on Oct. 29.

Bridges is a two-hectare commercial complex located on Plaridel St., Alang-alang in Mandaue City. This former furniture factory site will have two innovations—Kumprahan SuperMerkado and Oyster Bay.

Kumprahan SuperMerkado will be a wholesale/retail and community market.

“This is a first-of-its-kind market for the people, designed to provide convenience, security and affordable rates to the buyers,” said Eduardo Alegrado, chairman of Vivace Development Corp., during a press conference at the Cebu Country Club.

Aside from the Kumprahan SuperMerkado, Alegrado announced a new concept to attract tourists and locals.

Oyster Bay, designed as a beach-like restaurant, would offer Cebu’s best fresh and live seafood at affordable prices.

Alegrado said the concept behind this is for the tourists and locals not to go far to enjoy the best cuisines of Cebu.

To give the dining experience a beach ambience, they have planted coconut trees and created a fresh saltwater lagoon where live fish, including baby sharks, can be seen.

The seafood restaurant also has air-conditioned areas for private functions. Oyster Bay is set to open next month.

Bridges also features Tourist Zone, which showcases the best of Cebu’s cuisine, craft and culture; Family Block, where convenience stores and banks, among others, can be found; and Lifestyle Row, described as the destination for night-life events.

Chris Tio, director for business development of Bridges, said the commercial establishment will bring more progress in Mandaue City, especially now that Cebu is leading the country in tourism.

Tio said that in the coming days these zones will be launched.

Sleepwalker

October 16th, 2009, 06:14 PM

Ayala Center opens area for active people (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/ayala-center-opens-area-active-people)

TO COMPLEMENT Cebuanos’ drive for health and wellness, Ayala Center Cebu (ACC) has opened another area in its premises dedicated to the active consumers.

Called the Active Zone, the roughly 3,000-square-meter area near the mall’s Time Zone used to house restaurants and entertainment outlets.

With the construction of ACC’s The Terraces, several of the dining and entertainment stores moved to the mall’s new extension, while others did not renew their leasing contracts with the management.

Replacing them in their previous spaces are 23 retail stores selling sports and outdoor apparel, shoes, gear and equipment. One outlet is a coffee shop.

Tenants

Active Zone, which started renovation shortly after The Terraces opened last November, soft-opened last Thursday with eight tenants already operating: Speedo, Adidas, Nike, Sanuk, DC, Puma, Juego and G-Force.

By December, the rest of the tenants are expected to have started operations already, said Ayala Malls Group senior division group Clavel Tongco.

They include Bo’s Coffee, Skechers, Timberland, Wellness Concepts, R.O.X., Stoked Inc., Hip Street, Ecko Unlimited, Merrell, Planet Sports, Royal Sporting House, Mizuno, Fila, R Options, Pony, and Zoo York.

Tongco added that Active Zone still has room for expansion, for instance, for six more stores, should there be a demand for it.

Anchor

Active Zone’s anchor store is R.O.X. or Recreational Outdoor Exchange, which sells outdoor sports and recreation gear and equipment. R.O.X. has also rented the garden at the back of the zone, which used to be rented by Tequila Joe’s. R.O.X. will convert it into a facility for outdoor activities.

rau

October 16th, 2009, 06:24 PM

Tomas willing to listen to Light Rail Transit proposal (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=515001&publicationSubCategoryId=107#)
(The Freeman) Updated October 17, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña said he is willing to listen to the Light Rail Transit system proposal of Cebu 1st District Rep. Eduardo Gullas.

Osmeña who has been sentimental and active in implementing a Bus Rapid Transit system patterned after Bogota, Colombia, said he will let the people of Cebu City listen to the proposal before he will make his comment.

Osmeña and Gullas have been at odds with each other prior to the completion of the South Road Properties which has a few hectares within the territorial jurisdiction of Talisay City of the first district.

City Planning and Development Coordinator Nigel Paul Villarete said he will listen to the presentation this afternoon at the Waterfront Cebu Hotel and Casino for the project.

Villarete, who has been working on the previous studies of the LRT in the 1990’s said there are some things he wants clarified later.

He said he wants to know whether the LRT fare rate will be higher here in Cebu City compared to Manila.

In the original proposal of the LRT, Villarete said that the fare rate in Manila is P10 to P15 while in Cebu City the minimum fare rate is automatically pegged at P15 and 15 centavos for every kilometer.

He said he also wants to be clarified on the need of the national government to subsidize or infuse P2.5 billion annually to the existing LRT.

“It means that every Filipino from Aparri to Jolo is paying for the fare of the LRT in Manila,” Villarete said.

He said he also wants to know the actual computation of revenues once the LRT will be implemented here in the province.

The BRT, Villarete said, needs only P5 million for every kilometer from the government compared with the LRT which needs P32 million for every kilometer.

The thrust of the Cebu City administration is choosing a mass transportation system which is economical, environmentally sustainable and directed towards reduction of car use.

Already the cities of Cebu and Mandaue issued a resolution choosing the BRT as their mode of mass transport.

Recently Gullas announced that the director general of the National Economic Development Authority has committed the approval of the Cebu Light Rail Transit System before the agency’s investment coordination committee.

Gullas said he got the commitment from NEDA director general Augusto Santos when the latter appeared before them during the budget hearing.

Gullas said he is also working for the endorsement of the project from the three local governments of the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Talisay. — Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (FREEMAN NEWS)

leylander

October 16th, 2009, 06:26 PM

the active zone looks bland...

MatudNilaBaby

October 16th, 2009, 06:58 PM

gikan sa ila mismo'ng project document nga gisubmit nila sa DOTC. although gi
glamorized lang pagtawag --> Capacity Fee Payments kuno. sa layman's terms,
subsidy ...

you have a 4 meter by 5 meter ordinary bedroom. a 2-HP airconditioner would
make it rather comfortable and cool. why would you install TWO (2) aircon
units?

suppose we look at cebu and design an LRT from Bogo to Santander (suppose
lang ha ...). we compute and see that the line will suffice for the next 20
to 30 years (one line means 2 railway lines, one in each direction). question:
why would you want to put up TWO railway lines (4 sets of rails, 2 in each
direction)????? that answers your question. both the LRT and BRT are public
transport systems - they carry the same passengers, have the same charac-
teristics, except for one thing - one runs on rails and one runs on wheels.
having both is an unnecessary duplication ...

as you said, major cities have both ... its because they're major cities, and
the ridership may require many lines, maybe all rail, maybe BRT, or maybe a
mix. let's face it ... cebu ... metro cebu ... is not a major city of the world
and it would be decades till we become one. we barely reach 2 million
population and we're not in the league of a megacity (10 M pop'n or more).
there are already 25 megacities in the world. at 2% population growth rate,
when do you think we can reach 10 M?

seattle, the sister city of cebu city has even a lesser population yet they have both an lrt and a brt system available to the riding public. i also live in a city with a population like that of bacolod and yet it has a brt and lrt sytem in tandem. you dont have to wait until we reach a population of 10 million or become a megacity to warrant your argument.

AmbutLang

October 16th, 2009, 07:39 PM

Unahon usa ang BRT kay cheaper to start with and low maintenance.
Kung LRT mahal oi. Dii lang train ug riles ang kinahanglan. It needs signal systems to see where the trains are at a particular time from a tower. Talking about a tower, it needed two of them. One in the immediate area just in case a failure at the main tower and for maintenance test/or operation. It needs a diamond crossover switch at certain interval so trains can go from one track to the other just in case the train ahead malfunction so that the train behind can go around and while doing so the signaling system will insure as to prevent collision. It needs a geometry train to check if the track shifted. It needs an X-ray train to inspect metal fatigue on the rails. Its a long discussion unya ma OT pa. It was my old job sa NYC Transit. :)

MatudNilaBaby

October 16th, 2009, 08:41 PM

^^ endorsements needed from 3 cities: Cebu, Mandaue, Lapulapu...one of them is Mayor Tom Osmeña, of course....and then the project proposal will be submitted for approval by the Regional Development Council chaired by Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.... SAUN NA LANG....i hope wala'y babag ani....heheh!

our elected local government heads must and should put their personal differences aside vis-a-vis politics for the good of the cebuano people.
komo kay dili ilang pet project dili nili supportahan. claro na kaayo na nga pamolitica ra gyud nang ila ug personal recognition pabuhi sa ilang atay ug batiko-on ang ilang gitan-aw. kon nakapuyo mo lungsod nga layo sa ciudad, dili gyud ka makakita ug comfortable nga pagbiyahe anang gahuot nga buses ur jeepneys. maayo na kaayo ni nga opportunity to elevate the status of cebu city, metro cebu and cebu province into a world class center kay dunay ta ka paillin ilinan sa atong pag travel. so uyon ko sa brt and lrt dinhi sa cebu.

kon duna na unya ni nga infrastructure in place, the movement of people and goods dali ra unya kaayo from bantayan to santander. its a win-win situation para sa mga sugbuanon ug sa iyang mga dumoduog locals and foreign alike.

Hajanlet

October 16th, 2009, 09:29 PM

MatudNilaBaby

October 16th, 2009, 10:11 PM

@MatudNilaBaby: You would have made your point of Seattle was in a Third World Country, it is not. The issue is affordability.

I know of someone who bought a car but rarely ever used it because he couldn't afford the gasoline. I think the situation would be very similar to this if Cebu City went with LRT.

mao nay nakadaot natu kay we are content with a third world status. cebu can help lift our third world status by having these infrastructures in place for our people that is only available in the capital region.

metro cebu and the entire cebu province has 5 times the number of people compared to seattle. we have more people needing decent and comfortable public transportation than they are here. kanus-pa man unya ka maka afford ug himo ini in 2020? where the price is already tenfold? dili man sab ang cebu city residents ra ang mobayad ana, its the residents of the whole province ug ang mga dumoduog sa cebu ang mobayad apil sa pag-operate ana nga lrt. maka-ingon ka ana kon brt ra imong hisgutan kay its only for cebu city residents for the mean time. im sure ang taga talisay ug mandaue or lapu-lapu mas gusto ang lrt over brt. so sure ang magbaguod ana ang cebu city government ra kay that is tomas project.

so maayo pa dili nalang ta maglaban laban ug dapig dapig ug usa ka politcal leader. kon kinsay dunay maayong projects para sa ikalambo sa tanang sugbuanon di mao na atong dapigan. kamo tuo kaayo mo sa mga studies sa brt. ug imo gyud nang utingkayon in reality there are biases in every research or feasibility studies done. kantahi unya ko ug bakakon ka diay!

zidlakan

October 17th, 2009, 12:34 AM

mao nay nakadaot natu kay we are content with a third world status. cebu can help lift our third world status by having these infrastructures in place for our people that is only available in the capital region.

i agree that we should not be content with where we are. indeed, progress and
development should be everybody's concern. but i think we should be realistic
in where we are, where we want to be, and how and when we get there.

the US where seattle is has an average per capita income of US$47,000. the
philippines has US$3,500. we can't help lift our third world status by having
these infrastructures in place for our people similar to what they have (having
2 or more kinds of pubic transport systems). Bogota has 6.7 million population
but hey have only 1 kind of public transportation - BRT. it's not research or
feasibility study. its real and they are still expanding.

to some it might be political. to me, it's not. as i have stated elsewhere in
this forum, there was a time in the early1990's when i was advocating for
the LRT (and having those lively arguments with tomas). but as a professional,
i have to be honest to myself and after diligent study on the detailed transport
between the two on transport economy, mobiliy, and sustainabiliy
issues, i was convinced that the BRT is the better alternative, especially in
cities like cebu. there's nothing political about that, it's what i adhere to,
as a civil engineer and as a transport practicioner. in today's news you will
read "tomas willing to listen to LRT proposal." i talked with him yesterday
ad i he said, he'll listen and if he is convinced, he'll agree. i told him, i studied
the project documents already, and i can't agree. i'll listen more today, and
ask questions to clarify. but i doubt they could change my mind.

i totally agree with you, dili nalang ta maglaban laban ug dapig dapig ug usa
ka political leader ani. i won't. i'll stick with my honest evaluation for the
last 15 years. and i hope all of you will also stick to your own preferences
after studying and understanding the issues more thoroughly.

Jimbu

October 17th, 2009, 01:02 AM

Mao gyud ni ako gi pangutana ni Sir Paul pagka BRT Seminar. Libog ko nganu naay mga article sa LRT to be built in Cebu. Karon naa na gyud hinuon itukod nga office. :nuts: unsa man gyud, BRT or LRT?

Reality check: every Juan taking each ride in LRT and MRT in Metro Manila is subsidized by the whole Philippines. unya mag tuga-tuga pud ang Cebu magka LRT? Kinsa mo subsidize? ang-ang si Gullas. :lol:

When I was working in Makati mag LRT jud ko going to office and back home. During that time diay I was using LRT, subsidized ako expenses by taxpayers from Aparri to Jolo. Pero ang pangutana karon, asa man sab ang mga taxes withheld sa ako monthly salary by national goverment. I may have been subsidized for my transport expenses but I was also paying taxes monthly, possibly a fraction of it may have been used by the national goverment for projects from Aparri to Jolo.

Kung madayon ang LRT sa Cebu, possible jud na for every Cebuano ride ma subsidized by whole Philippines. But how about the Cebuano taxpayers who will use LRT. They are also contributing their taxes to the whole Philippines (NG).

zidlakan

October 17th, 2009, 02:59 AM

When I was working in Makati mag LRT jud ko going to office and back home. During that time diay I was using LRT, subsidized ako expenses by taxpayers from Aparri to Jolo. Pero ang pangutana karon, asa man sab ang mga taxes withheld sa ako monthly salary by national goverment. I may have been subsidized for my transport expenses but I was also paying taxes monthly, possibly a fraction of it may have been used by the national goverment for projects from Aparri to Jolo.

Kung madayon ang LRT sa Cebu, possible jud na for every Cebuano ride ma subsidized by whole Philippines. But how about the Cebuano taxpayers who will use LRT. They are also contributing their taxes to the whole Philippines (NG).

true. every filipino subsidizes the LRT in manila. but there are also people
from other provinces who use it (usa na ko ana). so when the LRT will be
implemented in cebu, it will also be subsidized and each passenger paid for
by all people from all over the philippines. so does that make it fair?

there are of many classifications of subsidy, ... in general two - sectoral
and spatial. sectoral is when one sector subsidizes another ... say we pay
more for power so that water can be subsidized (example only). spatial is
like the LRT. where the whole maybe made to pay so that a few can enjoy.

it doesn't really matter where you come from. it's where the service is
subsidized.

in many parts of the country, you find these: ...

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/pvillarete/CEBU-LRT/bus_overloaded04.jpg

or this ...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/pvillarete/CEBU-LRT/jeepney_overloaded03.jpg

or this ...
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/pvillarete/CEBU-LRT/tricycle_overloaded_schoolchildren0.jpg

how much are these filipinos paying for their transport? P8? P10? P12? P16?
P20? in modes of transport which are inefficient, dusty, inconvenient, hot,
smelly, dangerous (notice schoolchildren hanging on tricycles), and all the
negative you can think of. it might not be so bad in cebu but in other parts
of the country, these are everyday realities.

now, how much does our so-called national government charging people in
manila ("in" ha, not "of"), for providing a transport facility like this?

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/pvillarete/CEBU-LRT/LRT_terminal.jpg

(fast, efficient, clean, air-conditioned, nice mall-like stations, safe, "first-
world-like," modern, etc., etc.)

minimum of P10 for one station to max of P15 from one end to end.

so my question is this? unsa ma'y sala sa atong kaigsoonang pilipinhon nga
wa gani maka provide ang gobyerno ug better transport, pabayron pa jud
sila ug mas mahal?

samtang kung tua kas manila, you get that "modern" LRT ride which makes
you feel you are in the other "great cities" of the world, unya chargean lang
ka ug P15 kay ang P45 gibayran sa gobyerno. don't get me wrong, every
time mosakay ko sa LRT, which is often cause i always take it every time
i'm in manila, i know kada sakay nako nibayad ang gobyerno ug P45. kada
sakay ha! fine. if you think you deserve it cause you pay withholding tax.
how about the rest of the filipinos? don't they pay withholding tax also?

my argument against the LRT is that it is not a better mode of transport. it
is. i also thinks BRT compares with it. if we can afford it and it is economi-
cally viable, let's have both! let's have as many as needed (AS NEEDED ha,
not just because WE WANT). but why subsidize? it makes non-metro-
manilans ..., and later, non-metro-cebuanos ..., second class citizens in this
country.

(and the first class citizens are only those from manila and cebu!)

zidlakan

October 17th, 2009, 03:27 AM

When I was working in Makati mag LRT jud ko going to office and back home. During that time diay I was using LRT, subsidized ako expenses by taxpayers from Aparri to Jolo. Pero ang pangutana karon, asa man sab ang mga taxes withheld sa ako monthly salary by national goverment. I may have been subsidized for my transport expenses but I was also paying taxes monthly, possibly a fraction of it may have been used by the national goverment for projects from Aparri to Jolo.

Kung madayon ang LRT sa Cebu, possible jud na for every Cebuano ride ma subsidized by whole Philippines. But how about the Cebuano taxpayers who will use LRT. They are also contributing their taxes to the whole Philippines (NG).

@Jimbu, i hope you don't mind, ha? i'd like to make your case an example to
better explain to all unsa jud ni'ng subsidy and what it really implies ...

you said you use the LRT going to office and back home. ato'ng is assume
you don't go anywhere else (malling, etc.). that's 2 LRT rides a day. let's
assume you work in a private company. 6 days a week. i-assume na lang
nato 24 days a month. that excludes using the LRT on sundays, holidays,
and for non-work purposes.

the subsidy given by NG to each LRT rider is P45. at 2 rides/day, 24 days/
month, the total subsidy you recieved was P2,160.00! per month. ingon
ana ka ka pinangga sa national government kay gitagaan ka ana free kada
buwan. most probably without your knowing it, or without your realizing it.
each LRT passenger, if regularly using the LRT in going to work, is actually
given a free P2,000++ per month. only because? only because he/she lives/
works in manila ....

sakit sa ako buot pero i also enjoy that subsidy, too, everytime i go to manila
and ride the BRT. ang-ang man sad pa hero-hero ko ug mobayad ko'g full
ka'y moingon ko di ko pa subsidize? he he he but it really pains me that the
NG can do this bias towards manila and unfairness to the rest of the country
(including cebu) nga nagbagood intawon ug kagang-kagang nga buses ug
jeepneys unya mas mahal pa jud ang plete.

unya karun mo-ingon ta, sige! kita na sad. kita na sad pa-subsidize. bahala
na lang na'ng uban dapit. especial man ang manila. especial sad ang cebu.
to he** with the rest of the country!

my friends, try to think deeper into the issue. don't be mesmerized by the
gleam and glitter of "advanced world" systems. it's nice if we can afford it
(which at US$3,500 per capita GDP we can not).

@Jinbu, sorry nahimo ta ka nga example. pero ikaw man gud pina ka close
ug pina ka concrete nga recent post/example. no offense meant. my
apologies ...

rustyboi

October 17th, 2009, 04:16 AM

^^Very well said Sir Paul, ma tandug man pud ko ana. Salamat kaayo pag share. example ra man pud bai Jimbu ;)

Ganahan pud ko sa example nimu sa bus, tricycle ug jeepney compared with P10-P15 plete sa MRT/LRT.

Sa kadugay nato dire sa SSC, mu express man pud ta ug dissapointment kay kuno especial ra kaayo ang Manila, nindot ilang transport system at expense of the whole country. We know that, and mao karon bothered gihapon ko anang mag sunod sunod ta sa Manila, daghan na gyud maglagot sa Cebu, ma certified Imperial Cebu na ta, dili nata jologs. LOL

rustyboi

October 17th, 2009, 04:22 AM

bakasaurus

October 17th, 2009, 04:52 AM

mao nay nakadaot natu kay we are content with a third world status. cebu can help lift our third world status by having these infrastructures in place for our people that is only available in the capital region.

metro cebu and the entire cebu province has 5 times the number of people compared to seattle. we have more people needing decent and comfortable public transportation than they are here. kanus-pa man unya ka maka afford ug himo ini in 2020? where the price is already tenfold? dili man sab ang cebu city residents ra ang mobayad ana, its the residents of the whole province ug ang mga dumoduog sa cebu ang mobayad apil sa pag-operate ana nga lrt. maka-ingon ka ana kon brt ra imong hisgutan kay its only for cebu city residents for the mean time. im sure ang taga talisay ug mandaue or lapu-lapu mas gusto ang lrt over brt. so sure ang magbaguod ana ang cebu city government ra kay that is tomas project.

so maayo pa dili nalang ta maglaban laban ug dapig dapig ug usa ka politcal leader. kon kinsay dunay maayong projects para sa ikalambo sa tanang sugbuanon di mao na atong dapigan. kamo tuo kaayo mo sa mga studies sa brt. ug imo gyud nang utingkayon in reality there are biases in every research or feasibility studies done. kantahi unya ko ug bakakon ka diay!

I agree with your point bai nga our decisions at best should not be in package with a politician, but your comparison between Seattle and Cebu is very, very incongruent. Firstly, you didn't even try to find out how much the US government is subsidizing their mass transit systems (well you can really make a fair comparison between how much the Philippines and the US can subsidize, can't you?). I can even do better than that and draw more examples here in Japan nga very provincial ug bukid na but hey still have very good mass transit systems. But I know that the comparison will not be parallel!:lol: (And besides, in terms of transport systems, Japan is way ahead of the US).

I am honestly convinced that BRT is the more pragmatic solution as of this time. That said, I am not against LRT, but that it can wait. I don't think we have enough ridership to make this very feasible now.

If you want megacity comparisons, check these figures:
No. of passengers everyday

1 line (only!) in Tokyo (Yamanote Line of JR East), 29 stations = 3.5 million
12 lines London Underground, 275 stations = 2.7 million
26 lines New York City Subway, 468 stations = 5.08 million

It figures.
:lol:

I think Japan can subsidize for their losses in other more provincial areas because the Tokyo lines make up for it. IF magtuga2x ta diris Cebu, mangayo pod tag subsidy gikan sa Manila nga sila mismo didto nagpasubsidize og mas dako pa nga amount kay sa plete mismo!? Pug-an na pod nato ug maayo ang gobyerno?! Naa pa kaha maikahatag? Hehehe.

bakasaurus

October 17th, 2009, 05:09 AM

Sleepwalker

October 17th, 2009, 05:20 AM

zidlakan

October 17th, 2009, 06:00 AM

Mao gyud!:lol::lol:

@Zidlakan, on the grounds of transport economics and your argument on fairness and democracy, I support BRT, and will support LRT when I find it's existence to be feasible.I like this analogy...Unya tawgon dayon og "nganong patuga-tuga"...Makadawat kaha ta ingnon ta nga patuga-tuga?

BRT + good health benefits + employment + housing + clean and well lighted streets + peace and order...Mao na dapat priority sa Cebu karon. Tibuok Metro Cebu ni ha ug kung mahimo tibook Cebu gud.

molakaw na ko adto pedia ni samuel unya attend LRT presentation sa water-
front at 3 pm.

mo pranka lang ko ha. ... i'm ad advocate of BRT. nut what is most impt. to
me is a good public transportation for cebu. i am not a decision maker. i'm
a sort of adviser to the decision makers. kung mamugos jud sila to the LRT,
... or kung mo ingon na sila, "take it or leave it," i won't object to the LRT
oi! makaingon man sad ko di bitaw kita nangayo ana, BRT man ang gi advo-
cate sa cebu city, kung ang national government mo insist, sige, go ahead,
we'll have the LRT in 5 years. basta on one condition - fares should not be
higher in cebu compared to manila. puslan man i insist and subsidy, then
we should be subsidized so that fares are the same. kung ang plete mas
mahal. lahi na pud na'ng istoryaha! ma klaro na jud na second class citizens
ta sa manila.

my deepest fear is that this think will not materialize. i have enough inside
information (things i can't print here) to suspect the entire offer. i hope
i'm wrong, but if i'm right, it means there is really no LRT to speak of in 5
years. and in the meantime, the BRT will be stalled. i may have more
concrete knlwlege later after i listen to them ...

ferny123

October 17th, 2009, 06:24 AM

complicated situation?

bakasaurus

October 17th, 2009, 06:39 AM

molakaw na ko adto pedia ni samuel unya attend LRT presentation sa water-
front at 3 pm.

mo pranka lang ko ha. ... i'm ad advocate of BRT. nut what is most impt. to
me is a good public transportation for cebu. i am not a decision maker. i'm
a sort of adviser to the decision makers. kung mamugos jud sila to the LRT,
... or kung mo ingon na sila, "take it or leave it," i won't object to the LRT
oi! makaingon man sad ko di bitaw kita nangayo ana, BRT man ang gi advo-
cate sa cebu city, kung ang national government mo insist, sige, go ahead,
we'll have the LRT in 5 years. basta on one condition - fares should not be
higher in cebu compared to manila. puslan man i insist and subsidy, then
we should be subsidized so that fares are the same. kung ang plete mas
mahal. lahi na pud na'ng istoryaha! ma klaro na jud na second class citizens
ta sa manila.

my deepest fear is that this think will not materialize. i have enough inside
information (things i can't print here) to suspect the entire offer. i hope
i'm wrong, but if i'm right, it means there is really no LRT to speak of in 5
years. and in the meantime, the BRT will be stalled. i may have more
concrete knlwlege later after i listen to them ...

Well for all our sake Sir Paul, go and we know you will do your best. And after that, please do fill us in sa mga nahitabo. Kay you don't often find an audience as deeply interested as SSC Cebu people about this thing!:lol:

Besides, I think if you have any basis of your apprehensions about the realization of this LRT, please tell us also so we can weigh our opinions better.

mAiNsTrEaMhunter

October 17th, 2009, 07:15 AM

seattle, the sister city of cebu city has even a lesser population yet they have both an lrt and a brt system available to the riding public. i also live in a city with a population like that of bacolod and yet it has a brt and lrt sytem in tandem. you dont have to wait until we reach a population of 10 million or become a megacity to warrant your argument.

bai i agree with some of the posts here. ayaw icompare ang seattle sa cebu or perhaps US and philippines by merely just basing it on population. ngano man gud diay kung ato ning hinay-hinayan ba. wala man nay problema. kinsa may nagdali? nganong mangisog or magsakit man gyud atong buot kung wala tay LRT as of the moment na dili man na ingon na namili ta or naghuwat tas mga politico, we're just weighing things for the better, to be critical og dili magpadala sa mga false promises sa ubang politiko. forumers here had already shared good pointers about why LRT isn't feasible yet in cebu.

i agree that we should not be content with where we are. indeed, progress and
development should be everybody's concern. but i think we should be realistic
in where we are, where we want to be, and how and when we get there.

the US where seattle is has an average per capita income of US$47,000. the
philippines has US$3,500. we can't help lift our third world status by having
these infrastructures in place for our people similar to what they have (having
2 or more kinds of pubic transport systems). Bogota has 6.7 million population
but hey have only 1 kind of public transportation - BRT. it's not research or
feasibility study. its real and they are still expanding.

to some it might be political. to me, it's not. as i have stated elsewhere in
this forum, there was a time in the early1990's when i was advocating for
the LRT (and having those lively arguments with tomas). but as a professional,
i have to be honest to myself and after diligent study on the detailed transport
between the two on transport economy, mobiliy, and sustainabiliy
issues, i was convinced that the BRT is the better alternative, especially in
cities like cebu. there's nothing political about that, it's what i adhere to,
as a civil engineer and as a transport practicioner. in today's news you will
read "tomas willing to listen to LRT proposal." i talked with him yesterday
ad i he said, he'll listen and if he is convinced, he'll agree. i told him, i studied
the project documents already, and i can't agree. i'll listen more today, and
ask questions to clarify. but i doubt they could change my mind.

i totally agree with you, dili nalang ta maglaban laban ug dapig dapig ug usa
ka political leader ani. i won't. i'll stick with my honest evaluation for the
last 15 years. and i hope all of you will also stick to your own preferences
after studying and understanding the issues more thoroughly.

sakto! i couldn't agree more! :okay:

I agree with your point bai nga our decisions at best should not be in package with a politician, but your comparison between Seattle and Cebu is very, very incongruent. Firstly, you didn't even try to find out how much the US government is subsidizing their mass transit systems (well you can really make a fair comparison between how much the Philippines and the US can subsidize, can't you?). I can even do better than that and draw more examples here in Japan nga very provincial ug bukid na but hey still have very good mass transit systems. But I know that the comparison will not be parallel!:lol: (And besides, in terms of transport systems, Japan is way ahead of the US).

I am honestly convinced that BRT is the more pragmatic solution as of this time. That said, I am not against LRT, but that it can wait. I don't think we have enough ridership to make this very feasible now.

If you want megacity comparisons, check these figures:
No. of passengers everyday

1 line (only!) in Tokyo (Yamanote Line of JR East), 29 stations = 3.5 million
12 lines London Underground, 275 stations = 2.7 million
26 lines New York City Subway, 468 stations = 5.08 million

It figures.
:lol:

I think Japan can subsidize for their losses in other more provincial areas because the Tokyo lines make up for it. IF magtuga2x ta diris Cebu, mangayo pod tag subsidy gikan sa Manila nga sila mismo didto nagpasubsidize og mas dako pa nga amount kay sa plete mismo!? Pug-an na pod nato ug maayo ang gobyerno?! Naa pa kaha maikahatag? Hehehe.

idol! :master::master:

Sleepwalker

October 17th, 2009, 08:18 AM

Cebu from Mactan Channel
flickr photo by Badz

Cebu Doctor's University & Robinland
Mandaue City
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2635/3993288532_68ca1ef733.jpg

Cebu Boardwalk Mall (stalled)
Mandaue City
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2445/3992529607_225ee9c8a3.jpg

Sleepwalker

October 17th, 2009, 08:56 AM

Cebu's Shipping Industry

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2617/3992532545_1064d3a42c.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3992531869_9a804fce00.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3494/3993289484_bb3c9f1b25.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2452/3738150555_1d9a4581f4.jpg

Sleepwalker

October 17th, 2009, 09:12 AM

flickr photo from dbgg1979
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2598/4001591124_d488350cdb.jpg

flickr photo from shibuuuum
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2631/3962183264_e179d8fa4d.jpg

diehardbisdak

October 17th, 2009, 09:22 AM

Was it Mayor Tomas or the other city mayor who favored the Light Rail Transit to be built in Cebu several years ago? If i'm not mistaken, ma bawi raman kuno kay it will operate 24 hours a day daw. Morning and evening kay for passengers then midnight kay mga cargo. so ang income ma generate sa cargo mao nalang isubsidize para sa daytime use. :dunno:

...in the past, Mayor Tom was very vocal against LRT :okay:

diehardbisdak

October 17th, 2009, 09:27 AM

^ talking about Cebu's shipping industry...here's STARCRAFTS...are they new player in the passenger shipping industry? or, part of WEESAM?

flickr pic by @homma5433
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2765/4016697072_839380173d_o.jpg

diehardbisdak

October 17th, 2009, 09:30 AM

^^ give it 10 to 20 years @ken...hehehe!

wise_zech

October 17th, 2009, 09:48 AM

kanus-a paka masugdi ang mga construction diri oi...

kenken94

October 17th, 2009, 11:43 AM

10 years pa? Huhuhu...... kadugay pa baya........

diehardbisdak

October 17th, 2009, 03:37 PM

^^ syempre @ken...dugay pa gyud na...

diehardbisdak

October 17th, 2009, 04:04 PM

Dalaguete, Cebu

flickr pic by @renel_zone
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2508/4016236708_459da23fbc_b.jpg

rau

October 17th, 2009, 06:46 PM

Plan won't run without city on board: Tom could put LRT in jeopardy (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=515274&publicationSubCategoryId=107#)
By Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon and Elly Bolonos (The Freeman) Updated October 18, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - The proposed light rail transit (LRT) system may be in jeopardy if the project proponent will not get an endorsement from the Cebu City government.

During a presentation at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino yesterday afternoon, Johnny Ramos of AMA Group Holdings Corp., the proponent of the project, admitted that the project will not push through if the city government will not endorse it since 95 percent of the riding public come from the city.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña strongly criticized the project, saying it is being “anti-poor” due to its high fare, which runs counter to his proposed bus rapid transit (BRT).

“It looks anti-poor wherein the urban poor cannot afford it unlike the BRT,” said Osmeña, who is implementing the BRT system in the city.

Osmeña said he is not in favor of the proposed LRT system for Metro Cebu, stressing that LRT does not carry cargoes unlike the BRT.

He instead lambasted the Department of Transportation and Communication as a lousy urban planner.

The mayor then left after presenting his side.

Cebu first district Rep. Eduardo Gullas, who authored House Bill 310 seeking for the establishment of the LRT system in Cebu, was so disappointed by Osmeña’s criticisms of the project.

Gullas described the LRT as cost-efficient, modern and reliable transport system to cope with the province’s rapid population growth.

Equally disappointed was second district Rep. Pablo Garcia, who said that Osmeña’s opposition to the project is already a “nail in the coffin.”

But Nigel Paul Villarete, Cebu City Planning and Development Officer, said Osmeña has not yet made a categorical statement opposing the project, saying “they are just here (the presentation of the project) to listen and seek clarification.”

In a separate interview, Osmeña said he has yet to evaluate the project and that he is willing to listen during the presentation of the project to him on Wednesday.

He questioned the high cost of the LRT, saying it might affect the city’s future loans for the BRT project, which is also being endorsed by the DOTC.

Guiling Mamondiong, DOTC undersecretary for railways, assured the mayor that the proposed LRT and BRT projects will not compete with each other. He said the projects will instead compliment each other.

Mamondiong explained that the LRT fare is only P15 upon boarding and .50 cents for every kilometer thereafter.

The first phase of the LRT system covers the cities of Talisay, Cebu and Mandaue. This 19-kilometer stretch railway would cost $603million.

Before the project will be implemented, it needs an endorsement from the proponent and the three local government units to the National Economic Development Authority.

When completed, the Cebu Mass Transit System will have about 70 kilometers of rail line from Cebu City to Talisay to the South and from Cebu City to Mandaue City (phase 1), from Talisay to Dalaguete (phase 2) and from Mandaue City to Sogod (phase 3).

Ramos said the phase one of the project will have 19 stations.

These stations are Tabunok, Bulacao, Pardo, Cabreros, C. Padilla, Cebu Institute of Technology, V. Rama Avenue, South Bus Terminal, Cebu Normal University, Osmeña Circle, Capitol, Gorordo Avenue, Ayala Center, J. Luna Street, SM City, North Bus Terminal, Tipolo, Quezon and Super Metro Mandaue.

Sixth district Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz and Cebu City north district Rep. Raul del Mar, on the other hand, are hopeful that the project will push through.

Mamondiong said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wanted this project implemented before her term ends.

After Osmeña “insulted” DOTC in the presence of Mamondiong, Gullas apologized for the actuations of the mayor.

“I would like to apologize on behalf of my colleagues here for the insult. I don’t think you deserved that. To insult a guest, I don’t think that is a Cebuano way,” Gullas told the DOTC undersecretary.

Osmeña, however, clarified that he can’t block a project that will be implemented by the national government but he expressed apprehensions of the plan.

The mayor foresees that the government will only subsidize the LRT once it is operational.

He said only the rich and middle-class citizens in Cebu can actually benefit the LRT because of its high fare.

He explained that he preferred the BRT because it is much cheaper to operate.

The BRT system works like the train system but uses stairless buses and can go anywhere as long as there are BRT stations.

Osmeña is urging other local officials in Metro Cebu to examine their conscience before accepting the LRT project.

Villarete cited previous studies that LRT will cost $32 million per kilometer while BRT will only cost $5 million to $8 million to set up and maintain it. — /LPM (THE FREEMAN)

kenken94

October 17th, 2009, 06:50 PM

^^
Kaya pala sa last agi nako sa SRP ganina mingaw pajud gihapon ang South Recla. But that trip was comfortable and very easy so I enjoyed it........... nice view of the sea and the sidewalks near the seaside were all in red and does look so beautiful.

kenken94

October 17th, 2009, 07:09 PM

^^
Good one Mayor Tom!:applause::tyty::applause::tyty::applause: Only the middle class and the wealthy society of Cebu can benefit from the LRT. Costly pajud ang project......... $32 Million PER KILOMETER? Compared to $5 - $8 Million. They just can't wait............. LRT can be implemented......................... LATER!:rock:

diehardbisdak

October 17th, 2009, 08:16 PM

^^ WTF...Osmena Circle and Capitol....IMO, madaot gyud ang view sa Jones (Osmena Blvd.)

federalist

October 17th, 2009, 08:16 PM

yes it will be implemented later but the first move should begin now. I just hope that Mayor Tom will not object this. he better help it nalang unta. your BRT is still there anyways.

lowellflores

October 17th, 2009, 08:47 PM

Dili ko musogot mu agi sa fuente ug capitol, mubati ang view sa osmena boulevard, bilid sad ko sa mayor nato pranka gyud sa iya opinion,and the cost sad dako ra,e compare sa BRT lesser pa, cguro ma abot nata ana na ay LRT pero considering the cost and the fare is not the right time cguro, Hopefully if that implemented in the future they revised the route of LRT going to fuente and Capitol.

AmbutLang

October 17th, 2009, 08:54 PM

I agree with your point bai nga our decisions at best should not be in package with a politician, but your comparison between Seattle and Cebu is very, very incongruent. Firstly, you didn't even try to find out how much the US government is subsidizing their mass transit systems (well you can really make a fair comparison between how much the Philippines and the US can subsidize, can't you?). I can even do better than that and draw more examples here in Japan nga very provincial ug bukid na but hey still have very good mass transit systems. But I know that the comparison will not be parallel!:lol: (And besides, in terms of transport systems, Japan is way ahead of the US).

I am honestly convinced that BRT is the more pragmatic solution as of this time. That said, I am not against LRT, but that it can wait. I don't think we have enough ridership to make this very feasible now.

If you want megacity comparisons, check these figures:
No. of passengers everyday

1 line (only!) in Tokyo (Yamanote Line of JR East), 29 stations = 3.5 million
12 lines London Underground, 275 stations = 2.7 million
26 lines New York City Subway, 468 stations = 5.08 million

It figures.
:lol:

I think Japan can subsidize for their losses in other more provincial areas because the Tokyo lines make up for it. IF magtuga2x ta diris Cebu, mangayo pod tag subsidy gikan sa Manila nga sila mismo didto nagpasubsidize og mas dako pa nga amount kay sa plete mismo!? Pug-an na pod nato ug maayo ang gobyerno?! Naa pa kaha maikahatag? Hehehe.

The subway fare sa NYC Mass Transit (Subway and Buses) is enough to cover the salary of around 40,000 employees which 35,000 are considered the hourly from the foreman to the ultimo laborers.

The infrastructure support and maintenance, vehicle repairs and subway tracks repairs and renewals, train purchases are bond issued(subsidies). The city, state and Uncle Sam(US) put in the money close to a Billion a year in subsidy. :ohno:

These three entities would like to cut the subsidies. So the transit is doing the train automations as a single crew operation. Eliminating station clerks and change job titles as station guide so as to cut in salary scales for the new employees. :bash::ohno::ohno:

To save more money it will eliminate bus dispatchers and install GPS on all buses to locate any particular bus location.

MatudNilaBaby

October 17th, 2009, 09:00 PM

yes it will be implemented later but the first move should begin now. I just hope that Mayor Tom will not object this. he better help it nalang unta. your BRT is still there anyways.

claro nakaayo ang ratsada anang tomas. mora gyud ug iyang gi atiman ang urban poor sa cebu city unya i label paniya lrt is anti poor. lrt compliments brt kay brt cannot solve the traffic and transportation problem alone in the metro area. counter productive ni iyang gihimo instead of being pro-active for the good of all the cebuanos not only the taga ciudad cebuanos.

Sleepwalker

October 17th, 2009, 09:04 PM

Nahibulong lang gud ko nganong kalit na lang pud ni ningkusog ang LRT karon.

Mas maayo siguro nga humanon lang sa gud ang BRT. Kay maski og unsaon pagtuwad-tuwad sa logic, economically, dili gud siya feasible.

Tungod sa kamahal sa implementation, operating ug maintenance cost, tulo kabook ang padulngan.

1. Tag Php70 kapin ang bayad kada tawo, which unfair kung i-compare sa Manila ug ang mosakay mora og gamay ra kaayo.

Resulta : ALKANSE ANG INVESTOR

2. Tag Php15 ang bayad, i-shoulder sa investor ang balance nga Php45.

Resulta : ALKANSE ANG INVESTOR

3. Tag Php15 abf bayad, unya i-shoulder sa gobyerno ang balance nga Php45.

Resulta : ALKANSE TIBOOK PINAS

Merry Christmas natong tanan bai!!! :cheers:

Sleepwalker

October 17th, 2009, 09:28 PM

Akademiyang Bisaya launched, in effort to promote language (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/akademiyang-bisaya-launched-effort-promote-language)

THE Visayan Academy of Arts and Letters Foundation Inc. (Akademiyang Bisaya), which aims to preserve and develop the Visayan/Cebuano language, was launched yesterday at the Parklane Hotel in Cebu City.

Former transportation and communication secretary Jesus Garcia Jr., whose father and namesake founded the group in 1995, said it is now time to move forward in promoting Bisaya and its right usage.

Garcia, Sun.Star Publishing Inc. president, said the academy will invite language experts in Central Visayas to join them and take part in the development of the Visayan/Cebuano language, chiefly spoken in Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Negros Oriental.

The English-Visayan dictionary, which is already in circulation, is the first project of the Akademiyang Bisaya.

Garcia said the promotion of one’s native language is the promotion of our culture, hence the theme: “Halaman ug Pinulongan ko, Kabilin ug Kinabuhi Ko” (My Culture and my Language, My Heritage and My Life).

It is made more imperative now, said Cebu Provincial Government media consultant Sam Costanilla, because the new breed of high school and college students can no longer speak fluent Bisaya, but a mixture of English, Tagalog and Cebuano.

Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy, Akademiyang Bisaya president, said it is sad to note that the young people of today cannot speak either straight English or unadulterated Bisaya.

When he was dean of the University of Cebu’s College of Law, he also observed what Costanilla pointed out.

The Visayan/Cebuano version of the “Nasudnong Awit” or national anthem was played during the launch.

Sitoy said there is much to be done in developing and reconciling the Visayan/Cebuano dialect.

For example, he said, the Boholanos added the word “jamo” to the word “wala” (none), so that instead of just saying “wala,” they say “wala jamo.”

In the same gathering, Department of Education (DepEd) 7 Director Ricaredo Borgonia presented Department Order 74, series of 2009, which institutionalized the “mother tongue-based multilingual education.”

Research has shown that the level of development of a child’s mother tongue is a strong predictor of their second language development, he said.

Children with a solid foundation in their mother tongue develop stronger literacy abilities.

Borgonia added that more than 12 local studies made between 1948 and 2009 recommended that a learner’s first language be used as his medium of instruction.

Leonora Dotillos of the Cebu Normal University and Professor Allan Espiritu of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas Cebu College’s department of computer science, who attended the launching, expressed willingness to join the group.

The guests included the National Artist Jose Abueva, former Cultural Center of the Philippines president Balt Endriga, lawyer Manuel Faelnar and Dr. Warfe Tupas Engracia.

As part of his presentation, Borgonia said the DepEd has decided that the National Achievement Test (NAT) will be administered in Grade 1 for school year 2009-2010; Preparatory and Grades 1 and 2 in 2010-2011; Preparatory and Grades 1, 2 and 3 in 2011-2012.

The NAT given to Grade 6 students in 100 schools throughout the country will be in Filipino and English, Borgonia said.

kenken94

October 17th, 2009, 10:21 PM

^^
BRT muna.........

kung simbako mamugos gyud sila sa LRT nag pwerting mahala......... ayaw nalang tawn paagia sa Fuente ug sa Capitol intawn kay malain na ang view........ wa na'y ayo tan-awn.

eskeryon

October 17th, 2009, 10:41 PM

eskeryon

October 17th, 2009, 10:52 PM

Want to learn Cebuano?
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh168/eskeryon/DSC08551.jpg

zidlakan

October 18th, 2009, 02:51 AM

kenken94

October 18th, 2009, 03:26 AM

zidlakan

October 18th, 2009, 03:50 AM

^^
Newspapers are sometimes biased man sad......... you can't tell whether the written issues are not siding to one part of the story. They said (Gullas) that the LRT is COST EFFICIENT......... is he so sure about it? And why is this proposal so sound when the BRT is on process? 95% of the utilizers of this transport system comes from CEBU CITY, so it will be up to the CEBU CITY Government whether this project can push through.

kay ang 5% mao man ang gusto nga mo dictate ug magbuot! kinsa ma'y nag
announce-announce ani nga project? kinsa ma'y nag follow-up ani sa NEDA?
si gullas. but there wiill only be ONE (1) station in his district!

95% of the ridership is in cebu city. yet the congressman of less than 5%,
maybe only 1% of the ridership, is pushing it down our throats, without regard
to its effects on the 95%, bahala na'g mahal!

ngano kaha noh?

zidlakan

October 18th, 2009, 04:04 AM

zidlakan

October 18th, 2009, 04:05 AM

Want to learn Cebuano?
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh168/eskeryon/DSC08551.jpg

maayong liguidliguid kaninyong hurot!

jsl_bxu1206

October 18th, 2009, 04:45 AM

mao unta ni atong gamiton sa? nalingaw kog basa sa cebuano terms. i learned something new today.:lol:

Want to learn Cebuano?
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh168/eskeryon/DSC08551.jpg

concern

October 18th, 2009, 05:45 AM

Mao diay daghan Bagyo sa Month of October.
BagyoBagyo

leylander

October 18th, 2009, 05:50 AM

Want to learn Cebuano?
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh168/eskeryon/DSC08551.jpg

thanks for the photo @sir eskeryon!

akong gi try ug compare sa book that i have. pareho gyud diay. hehehe

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2696/4020640949_fc9091eb09.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2748/4021401244_17e359770a.jpg

leylander

October 18th, 2009, 05:52 AM

Note: Toinks. Mao diayng pareho kay the book that I have is Lina Quimat's Glimpses In History Of Early Cebu man sad diay. Hehehe. Wa ko kabantay.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2593/4021402474_f338293b26.jpg

Btw, ako na lang giapil pud ug picture ni

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2748/4021401786_b288fbf64b_b.jpg

slimer

October 18th, 2009, 06:43 AM

mao diay lami i-relax kung sunday kay ligiudliguid man diay ang cebuano niya hehehe...

Sleepwalker

October 18th, 2009, 07:14 AM

Malipayong adlaw sa Ligidligid, Ikanapulo'g walo ka-adlaw sa Bagyobagyo, Ika-duha ka libo'g siyam ka tuig.

Taasa diay oi, basta pure Cebuano gamiton... :)

maayomo

October 18th, 2009, 07:15 AM

claro nakaayo ang ratsada anang tomas. mora gyud ug iyang gi atiman ang urban poor sa cebu city unya i label paniya lrt is anti poor. lrt compliments brt kay brt cannot solve the traffic and transportation problem alone in the metro area. counter productive ni iyang gihimo instead of being pro-active for the good of all the cebuanos not only the taga ciudad cebuanos.

Matay, mangita pa man gani ug kwarta ipatukod ug either BRT or LRT, ganahan na hinuon ka naa ang duha? Nagtuo siguro ka nga daghan ug kwarta ang Pilipinas, noh? Unya, granting nga naa ta anang duha ka systems, tan-awa ang feasibility, bai. The presence of one undermines the necessity for the other, thus, we need only one system for now. Unya asa man ka pili, sa tag-600 million or sa tag 60 million? Aber? Please understand nga this is bigger than politics. You cannot just say nga, "Tumanan nalang unta ni ni Tomas, kay makatukod ra bitaw siya ug BRT bisag naay LRT." WTF?!!!

I read your post pud before bai, you asked nga when would be the right time to build it, and you said something about us being a thirld world country, etc. Question: If you are a minimum wage earner and barely making ends meet, would you be riding a taxi instead of a jeepney everytime you need to commute? If you need to wear something formal for a company function, would you buy an Armani suit instead of just plain long-sleeves? If you wanna eat beef, would you be buying Wagyu beef (which Rustan's is selling at around 4,000-7,000 a kilo, ahehehehe) instead of local beef? Are you gonna do all these just to proclaim nga YOU ARE NOT POOR? :ohno:

Sorry bai, ha, but it is this kind of mindset jud nga maoy target market ni Honorable Gullas. :ohno:

Not everything that glitters is gold, my brother. Not even the LRT proposal for Cebu. :)

mwg12a

October 18th, 2009, 07:30 AM

Im with you with this Sir Paul... Dapat fair sa tanan. Yes, sige tag reklamo nga nganong sila didto sa Manila tua gibubo tanang projects AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHER FILIPINOS but here comes this LRT. As a Cebuano, magsakit gyud diay atong buot nga mogamit og kwarta sa uban para lang maharuhay ta diri sa Sugbo to the extent nga sobra ra sad nga di na gyud necessary kaayo nga to think naapay may mas barato pa, ang BRT...

But isn't it that BRT would also be financed by a foreign investors? I feel that regardless if it's LRT or BRT, somehow, the payment for it would still come from taxpayers money. I don't think setting up of BRT, stations, route and such, including the planning system has to be funded. I have an impression that when a brt set up, a control station would monitor it's movement to keep the flow of BRT moving smoothly. While it would be cheaper to have BRT, it would still need funding, like I said, a station needs to be set up, the designated road and routes needs to be set up which means, there is a moderate amount of construction going to happen and then, you would need energy efficient buses that would probably be imported. Having said all of these, it is still inevitable that the tax payer's money would be utilized, which means even the tax payers from Mindanao and Luzon has to give their fair share.

mao na nga kinahnglan m.FEDERATED na jud ta. para kita na ang mugasto sa atong mga expenses... dba?

i think its our responsibility to know that something is wrong and we need to atleast find a solution, find a way to make ourselves federated!

Considering there would be a federal type of government, if this is the same federal type of gov in the US, the people would have to pay both State and federal taxes. While a state has more access to it's own funding and can enforce it's own laws and policies, initiate it's own projects, there would also be these national projects by the government and this is to support other states that would be struggling because they wouldn't be able to support themselves on their own, this is just something that can be avoided or inevitable. This would only mean that the funds from the national/federal government has to be allocated all over the federal government. I think there are some of you who has different concept of federalism, it's not a bad thing but it would not free the filipinos of obligations to fund a national/federal project that would be paid out of tax payer's money. That's the draw back of having a federal type of government, you guys would be taxed twice, one from state and the federal tax instead of what the Philippines have now, you pay one tax which is just the national government. I don't think the Philippine government would survive economically without having to resort into having state and federal tax law.

Sleepwalker

October 18th, 2009, 07:38 AM

Wolfranz

October 18th, 2009, 07:44 AM

I do not doubt Gullas' good performance as a congressman and a lawyer but as an urban planner?? ka-assuming biya. asa gud na niya gipunit ang iyang "cost-efficient"? Someone needs reality check.

I'm for BRT.

mwg12a

October 18th, 2009, 07:50 AM

^^We are talking the huge amount that the national government has been infusing as subsidy into the MRT/LRT system in Manila just to make the fare cheaper... ;)

If we will put another LRT/MRT system with the national government subsidizing it again, it will be too much a burden for all of the tax paying Filipinos and that is the thing we don't like to happen.

BRT on the other hand, is way cheaper of improving traffic mobility, so there is a big possibility of zero government subsidy.

Yes, I understand what you're saying. I wasn't really supporting LRT for Cebu as well, atleast just yet since I know Cebu isn't really that over populated yet. It's wise to have BRT there for now.

I just mentioned those above because, no matter what, some of it's funding would come from taxpayers money one way or another. Only that BRT would cost alot less.

Although, LRT shouldn't come from taxpayers money because it's own revenue should pay for itself that is the way I see it, if the Philippine government is trying to subsidize it to make the fares in MM cheaper, it should not be a bad idea after all otherwise, if it's really coming from taxpayers money, LRT should have been a free ride for all pinoys he he. I don't know. Maybe I'm missing something here somewhere.

on't they pay withholding tax also?

my argument against the LRT is that it is not a better mode of transport. it
is. i also thinks BRT compares with it. if we can afford it and it is economi-
cally viable, let's have both! let's have as many as needed (AS NEEDED ha,
not just because WE WANT). but why subsidize? it makes non-metro-
manilans ..., and later, non-metro-cebuanos ..., second class citizens in this
country.

(and the first class citizens are only those from manila and cebu!)

Very good arguement by sir paul aka Zidlakan.

slimer

October 18th, 2009, 10:04 AM

ok break time... mangaon ta ninyo ning adlawn'g liguidliguid...
Big City @ SM across Flame It!

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/752/bigcity1.jpg (http://img17.imageshack.us/i/bigcity1.jpg/)

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2973/bigcity2.jpg (http://img32.imageshack.us/i/bigcity2.jpg/)

ivanc

October 18th, 2009, 10:06 AM

kay ang 5% mao man ang gusto nga mo dictate ug magbuot! kinsa ma'y nag
announce-announce ani nga project? kinsa ma'y nag follow-up ani sa NEDA?
si gullas. but there wiill only be ONE (1) station in his district!

95% of the ridership is in cebu city. yet the congressman of less than 5%,
maybe only 1% of the ridership, is pushing it down our throats, without regard
to its effects on the 95%, bahala na'g mahal!

ngano kaha noh?

funny thing... after just reading the HEADLINE, i already guessed which paper that news came from... murag ang dating kay tungod ni tomas madaot ang future sa cebu

slimer

October 18th, 2009, 10:06 AM

taken oct.17.09
SM's digital billboard?

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/4338/smdb1.jpg (http://img3.imageshack.us/i/smdb1.jpg/)

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/8531/smdb2.jpg (http://img18.imageshack.us/i/smdb2.jpg/)

apm

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/7609/apm1.jpg (http://img3.imageshack.us/i/apm1.jpg/)

rustyboi

October 18th, 2009, 10:42 AM

Uhm excuse me, nganong LRT Cebu proposed fare is minimum/starting P15 while LRT/MRT Manila minimum is only P12, with P15 already the maximum. why does it have to be different? It's just the same banana. Ngano man mahal ang LRT Cebu? Ngano man kung pareho lang diay sa MRT? Gi explain kaha ni ni Honorable Gullas? Ngano pagpalahi man gyud ta? Mag tuga-tuga gyud noh?

dongRoy

October 18th, 2009, 10:47 AM

It is very difficult to sell technical data which can prove the efficiency and effectivity of a system to a non-technical person especially if he is a politician. I say, leave the policy making to the lawyers, but leave the megaprojects and infrastructures to the engineers.

I believe it is time that the people take control of the politicians and no longer the other way around. For a very long time now, we are led to believe that we are a democratic society, when reality is, our society is just being controlled by the elite - the politicians, the capitalist who are friends of these politicians and the people owning the media who bares grudges on the current political leaders because their political ally is not in the seat of power.

I would just like to express my sentiments on the LRT-BRT issue ahead of my explanations/questions: If dili madayon ang BRT, we would get stuck in this uncomforatable and inconvenient status quo, and it will get worse in the coming years. If we insist on Light Rail, we will become the next Metro Manila. So, Cebuanos decide, do we want to become another Metro Manila? If your answer is YES, then by all mean, support the LRT. If your answer is NO, then I invite you to open your minds and study both BRT and LRT. If after studying both systems and you are absolutely convinced that one is better than the other, then support what you believe is the better option.

Ako technical nga tao so I would not try to argue on the financial aspects or the subsidies, etc. I am a resident of Cebu and an ordinary working class so I don't really care much about the systems in the United States or Australia or any other First World Cities for that matter. I do not wish for Cebu City to become another Hong Kong or Singapore or even another Bogota. My basis for the following observations/explanations/questions is what I experience everyday living in Cebu.

From the route mentioned sa news:

Tabunok, Bulacao, Pardo, Cabreros, C. Padilla, Cebu Institute of Technology, V. Rama Avenue, South Bus Terminal, Cebu Normal University, Osmeña Circle, Capitol, Gorordo Avenue, Ayala Center, J. Luna Street, SM City, North Bus Terminal, Tipolo, Quezon and Super Metro Mandaue.

Question 1. How would you suggest these line be built? On-grade (Sa dalan mismo)? or Overhead grade separation (Parehas sa Manila nga naa sa taas tuod sa dalan pero ang foundations nikaon ra diay gihapon sa dalan)? Please take into serious consideration nga gagmay kaayo ang dalan sa Cebu and kasagaran ana duna na'y dagko nga buildng natukod. Kung makabuhat mo ug Rail nga maglutaw sa hangin, pakit-a ko.

Question 2. If, for example I am from Tabunok and would want to go to, say Basak, where would I get off? Pardo right? So from Pardo, what would I need to take so that I would reach Basak? Would I be taking a tricycle that would traverse along the South Highway? Or would I be taking a jeepney? It is a rhetorical question, obviously, I'll be taking a jeepney. Picture if you will, jeepney routes running parallel the Light Rail that has already enrouched the South Highway. What do you think the traffic situation in that area would be? So as a follow-up question, can you have a train station/stop every 400meters whilst having an express train traversing the same corridor? I believe it is obvious what I am trying to point out sa akong question. If we establish a Mass Transit System, it should render jeepneys as the inefficient system/mode of transport thus its removal from certain corridors can be justifyable.

Question 3. On issue on the environment, we may see Light rail trains or monorail to be CLEAN because we do not see smoke coming out of it. So I guess my question here is, how then would you power the trains? Puwede kaha ta na ipatayhop sa hangin aron mudagan? Can we build Wind Power plants or Huge solar power plants along side building the light rail infrastructure para mupower sa Trains para mapanindigan dyud nato nga it is a CLEANER mode of transport? Or are we going to consume power from the dirty and existing fossil fuel power plants? If it will not be powered by renewable energy, then claiming that it is a CLEANER transport system is invalid.

Question 4. Referring from the post of our new participant @Eastern Dragon, welcome to SSC-Cebu by the way, Atty. But, with all due respect sir, don't you think that on the issue on flooding, it would be better if we build an entirely different project that is aimed on flood control? Kay sa ako lang pung point of view, dili sa ingon nga nakiglalis ko nimo sir, pero I believe that if Cebu City gets flooded, the safety of those trains being spared from the floods would be the least of our concerns, wouldn't you agree? I know its not exactly a "long term" point of view, pero sa tinud-anay lang bah, di bah? Kung bahaon ang Cebu city, ambot ug duna ba pu'y usa nato diri nga muingon, "Sus! May gani naa sa taas ang train, at least dili bahaon." Mintras tanto, tua na ta gabugsay-bugsay sa atong inflatable bed nga gihimong na natong banka guroy nato atong anak sakay sa usa ka ice bucket. Siguro what I am trying to say is, if we want to prevent property and infrastructure damages caused by flooding, I believe it would be better if we create infrastuctures such as flood control drainage systems to address that. (Side comment: Such can be implemented together with the building of the BRT lines. please refer to my blog http://naggingcebu.blogspot.com and look for the Transit over Rivers entry)

Question 5. On the issue on the travellers from the other municipalities outside Metro Cebu. Kay duna may gaingon nga kitang mga taga syudad, atong kaugalingon ra atong gihunahuna. Granting mao na, akong question is this: Would it really make a significant amount of difference if the north and south bound travellers be served with BRT or LRT? Eitherway, both are still Mass Transit Systems, both systems transport people at high speeds, both are free from the usual vehicular traffic and both would have to be subsidized anyway bunga sa kagamay sa ilang pasahero compared sa Cebu City market. And, what if Cebu City would refuse to have the LRT installed, musugot kaha ang mga LRT proponents nga ang South line muputol sa Bulacao unya ang North line muputol sa Mandaue? Obviously not, because 95% of the aimed market of LRT is from Cebu City. Therefore, the type of Mass Transit System to be installed in Cebu City should be the prefered transit system of the people of Cebu City.

Final Question. What then is the preferred Transport system of the people of Cebu City? This should neither be dictated by Tomas Osmeña, nor ever should this be dictated by Cong. Gullas. This has to be dictated by the People of Cebu and so I urge the people of Cebu to make a choice. Look into the technical and financial data and look deeply into both systems. We have to understand that we are not just trying to build an ordinary transport system. We are rebuilding a City. We need to have a complete paradigm shift on how our cities should turn into. Learn from the mistakes of our past and use it to guide our future. Again, if you are convinced that one system is better than the other, then channel it to your Government. As a side note, I think that is one of the unwritten advocacies of SSC-Cebu; to make sure that the government of Cebu listens to the people of Cebu.

I only hope that in this what we call a Democratic society, we would be able to achieve genuine Democracy. Return to the people what is for the people. These are the right times to make the right choices. Elections are coming and project proposal are now revisited. Some politicians are now obviously grandstanding. For Cebu, I can only pray that the Cebuanos are still the intelligent people we bragged ourselves to be. Think, think deep, evaluate, measure, assess, dissect, make a choice and fight for what you believe in.

To a better Cebu, I remain.

federalist

October 18th, 2009, 12:40 PM

pero asa man mo mopili? sa makorakot lang ang kwarta? or sa LRT nga naa gyuy makita ug makabenifit sa mga tawo. millions or even billions ang kwarta nga makurakot every year, kasayang ana maayo pay gamiton nalang na sa mga government projects.

Sleepwalker

October 18th, 2009, 12:49 PM

^^Pero, daghan pa man pud siguro lain paagi nga magamit ang kwarta instead of LRT.

Nganong di man sila mo-push through og Transaxial Highway? Or something nga maka-improve sa standard of living sa mga Cebuanos.

Daghan gud kaayo paagi magamit ang kwarta, kana kung dili pasikatay ang gipangita.

federalist

October 18th, 2009, 01:11 PM

oyon ra pud ko kung instead of LRT Trans-axial nalang pero kuwang man gud ug suporta si E-Gwen. kung unsay ila e push thru basta makabenifit sa mga Cebuano, okay ra kaayo.

Sleepwalker

October 18th, 2009, 01:19 PM

Mosuporta si Gwen anang Transaxial Highway basta ilisan ang project name to GWEN (Government Widened, Expanded and Neat) Higway. Sige lang og bakikaw ang acronym, basta GWEN... :nuts:

federalist

October 18th, 2009, 01:36 PM

IT Park

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/4069/259e.jpg

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3093/258kc.jpg

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/6265/260xk.jpg

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/8365/257ht.jpg

rustyboi

October 18th, 2009, 03:04 PM

Asiatown IT Park
earlier today, 10-18-2009 by me
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2687/4022416010_56746e8d09_o.jpg

zidlakan

October 18th, 2009, 04:20 PM

Question 1. How would you suggest these line be built? On-grade (Sa dalan mismo)? or Overhead grade separation (Parehas sa Manila nga naa sa taas tuod sa dalan pero ang foundations nikaon ra diay gihapon sa dalan)? Please take into serious consideration nga gagmay kaayo ang dalan sa Cebu and kasagaran ana duna na'y dagko nga buildng natukod. Kung makabuhat mo ug Rail nga maglutaw sa hangin, pakit-a ko.

good question. and an important one. usually we miss this. or usually, we
forgot that most of the city is really outside and not in malls, LRT trains or
LRT stations, which really look good and air-conditioned, almost like malls.

on-grade or above-grade?

would like to live like this?

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/pvillarete/CEBU-LRT/abovegrade_02.jpg

or like this?

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/pvillarete/CEBU-LRT/BRT_medium_2.jpg

maybe, more realistically, ... since they proposed the LRT to pass the whole
stretch of osmena blvd. up to the capitol, ....

do you want fuente to be like this?

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/pvillarete/CEBU-LRT/abovegrade_01.jpg

or like this?

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/pvillarete/CEBU-LRT/BRT_Fuente.jpg

underoath

October 18th, 2009, 04:24 PM

Asiatown IT Park
earlier today, 10-18-2009 by me
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2687/4022416010_56746e8d09_o.jpg

i love IT park! :)

LordCarnal

October 18th, 2009, 04:41 PM

Fuente at Night

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2504/4022579440_c07725139a.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2763/4021818319_aa2b44505e.jpg

leylander

October 18th, 2009, 05:11 PM

wow nice shots @nold and @rusty!

rau

October 18th, 2009, 06:34 PM

Tom may still give ok to LRT (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=515586&publicationSubCategoryId=107)
By Elly Bolonos (The Freeman) Updated October 19, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - The proposed Light Rail Transit (LRT) System in Metro Cebu can still get an endorsement from Mayor on-leave Tomas Osmeña despite his criticism to the project.

This can be done if the proponents can persuade the mayor that the project is beneficial not only to the rich, but also the poor.

In an interview with The FREEMAN, Osmeña admitted that he was not convinced during the presentation of the proposed project the other day.

This is the reason why he lambasted the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) as lousy urban planner.

“Naglingkod lang ko didto og usa ka oras naglabad na akong ulo nga naghuna-huna nga mag-agwanta gyud mong tanan, ang mga Sugbuanon gyud ang mubayad og 30 bilyones pesos, I’m not convinced the way they were presenting it,” Osmeña said.

But, still, the mayor is not closing the possibility of supporting the LRT system in Metro Cebu if the proponent can very well explain the feasibility of the project.

DOTC Undersecretary for Railways Guiling Mamondiong is willing to talk with Osmeña to demonstrate the proposed LRT undertaking. They have a meeting set later this week.

The DOTC official acknowledged the importance of Cebu City’s endorsement of the project since, according to him, 95 percent of the users would come from the city.

Osmeña, however, expressed his dismay upon learning the plan of Mamondiong for the reason that during the conceptualization of the project, he was not consulted.

“Unya maminaw pud siya nako, o ako ray maminaw niya? Sa panahon nga ilang gibuhat ang plano, nag-consult sila sa siyudad? Karon, muhatag siya og explanation ang iyang gusto one way, ako ra ang maminaw unya siya dili, hello,” Osmeña retorted.

Osmeña prefers the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) over the LRT and is eager to implement the said mass transport system in the city because it’s much cheaper to operate.

The BRT system works like the train system, but uses stairless buses and can go anywhere as long as there are BRT stations.

But Mamondiong made an assurance that the proposed BRT and LRT projects will not compete, but instead, complement each other.

It was learned that phase 1 of the proposed LRT project will have 19 stations that covers the cities of Talisay, Cebu and Mandaue.

The 19 stations will include some major streets in Cebu City like Osmeña Boulevard, Escario Street, Gorrordo, and others.

Osmeña said that he can not imagine the traffic congestion it will cause in the major thoroughfares of the city once the LRT will be constructed.

“Kahibawo ka ang pagtukod og LRT will take 3 to 4 years and, of course, they will block the roads for 3 to 4 years while the project is under construction, musiyagit gyud mo kung muagi mo sa Osmeña Boulevard, Escario, ug sa ubang lugar, kay mag-detour, mag-detour na lang ta sa Tuburan oy,” Osmeña jokingly said.

In the previous interview, Osmeña, however, clarified that he can’t block a project that will be implemented by the national government.

Agenda of Meeting

City Planning and Development Coordinating Office (CPDO) head Engr. Nigel Paul Villarete said he was asked by DOTC Undersecretary Railways Guiling Mamondiong to facilitate a meeting which is tentatively this Wednesday or Thursday.

“As requested by DOTC Asec Mamondiong, I am arranging a meeting for them to present the project details especially on those issues that were raised by the Mayor and others I raised as a planner,” Villarete said.

Villarete said Osmeña has reservations on some matter especially its relevance to urban governance and land use issues

He said Osmeña wants DOTC to explain whether the proposed LRT conforms to urban planning strategies of Cebu City.

Second, Villarete said, is to hear DOTC’s side on car use policy and car-carrying capacity of roads vis-a-vis construction methodology and car use reduction issues.

And lastly, Villarete said there has to be an assurance that this initiative does not conflict or block the city’s policy on sustainable urban mobility through an efficient, cost-cost-effective, pro-poor public transportation using the BRT system.

“This assurance has to be in the form of not only a DOTC guarantee but also in reference to their medium-term public investment program,” Villarete said.

DOTC will also have to include BRT in their submission to the Country Investment Program of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) donors.

Part of the assurance would be the direct and indirect financial and economic exposure of the City during project implementation if ever.

He said the indirect financial exposure is very important while these will not appear in the documents, these may affect the future benefits of the Cebuanos.

“For example LRT will mean less economic opportunities for the people, reduction of taxes, rezoning on some areas, lost or forgone opportunities on future economic activities, conflict to urban design or ask the Cebuanos would they like those monstrous LRT platforms to block and tarnish the beautiful view of the grand Osmeña boulevard,” Villarete said.

Cebu City through the city council already approved a resolution choosing the BRT as the urban mass transport system for the city especially within the South Road Properties (SRP), envisioned soon as the center of economic development in Asia.

The City of Mandaue, also through its council, issued a resolution supporting the project.

Lapu-Lapu on the other hand has not made a stand while Talisaynon’s being under the turf of First District Eduardo Gullas is bent on supporting the LRT.

Gullas is the main proponent of the Cebu LRT Bill.

Already three agencies are set to start their respective studies on the BRT, including DOTC’s P32 million local study.

On the other hand, World Bank through the Private Public Infrastructure Agency Fund (WB-PPIAF) is appropriating $375,000 while the Asian Development Bank extended the assistance of $500,000 for the BRT at the SRP.

The BRT is patterned after the system in Bogota, Colombia, who first implemented it successfully under Mayor Enrique Peñalosa. —with Ferliza Contrastista and Mitchelle Palaubsanon/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)

rau

October 18th, 2009, 06:42 PM

Can City stall LRT? (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/can-city-stall-lrt)
By Elias O. Baquero

CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will not endorse the proposed Light Rail Transit-Mono Rail Transit (LRT-MRT) project in Metro Cebu, until the study on a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for Cebu City is finished.

That’s bad news for the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), which needs endorsements from the City Governments of Cebu, Mandaue and Talisay this week.

The agency has to beat an Oct. 24 deadline to submit the endorsements to the Regional Development Council (RDC). From the RDC, the project will then be evaluated by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

Representatives of the Mandaue and Talisay City Governments have assured DOTC Undersecretary for Railways Guiling Mamondiong that their cities will issue the endorsements.

Not Cebu City, though.

“No endorsement until our BRT studies are finished. I asked for funding for the BRT. How can I ignore the process that I requested?” Mayor Osmeña told Sun.Star through a text message yesterday.

In a meeting the DOTC and AMA Group Holdings Corp. hosted last Saturday, Osmeña asked how the proposed USD$602-million LRT-MRT will decongest traffic if the same road right-of-way will be used. He also asked how it would affect the proposed BRT. At one point, he called the DOTC a “lousy urban planner.”

Undersecretary Mamondiong has requested Cebu City Planning and Development Coordinator Paul Villarete to help him arrange for a meeting with the mayor.

“I’m with the City Government….And I can’t give you an answer because we have not set anything,” Villarete said in a phone interview yesterday.

Last March 13, President Gloria Arroyo reportedly endorsed the BRT and gave a go-signal for the project.

Like Osmeña, Arroyo was excited about the BRT for Cebu City and other cities in Metro Cebu, and reportedly asked DOTC Undersecretary Ann Lontoc to help the City Government with the requirements for its implementation.

Osmeña first proposed the BRT towards the end of his first term as mayor in the early 1990s, but official discussions with foreign funding agencies and the former mayor of Bogota, Colombia did not begin until early 2008.

The BRT works like a train system, but uses buses instead of train coaches and bus lanes instead of train tracks. Passengers pay at the specially designed bus stations in the middle of the road, accessible through pedestrian lanes or overhead walkways.

Benefits

Since the BRT buses use segregated lanes, they are not affected by traffic jams in regular roads.
During Saturday’s consultation, Osmeña also said a proposed minimum fare of P15 for the LRT-MRT is too much.

Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (Cebu Province, 6th district), who also attended, urged Cebu City officials to focus on the job and business opportunities that will be created if the LRT-MRT system is pursued.

“Let us not look at the fare per se because we also have to consider the business development in some areas, and with that development, income generation, employment generation steps in,” Soon-Ruiz said.

Those working in one city and living in another will be spared from having to rent rooms during the weekdays, she said.

“They could go home easily and share dinner with their families, and there are some other things which we must also consider, not just the fare per se,” Soon-Ruiz added.

Mamondiong said the government can also subsidize the LRT and MRT fares.

But in the meantime, to get the approval of Neda, they set the minimum fare at P15 because they have to show the agency that the project is financially viable, he said.

3 years

Mamondiong quoted a DOTC study that showed Cebu will be highly congested three years from now.

“And this is the only major project that will decongest Cebu, hence, DOTC wants this project implemented the soonest possible time at no expense on the part of the government,” Mamondiong said.

If it starts next year, he said, the LRT-MRT project will be in operation by 2014.

In the consultation, Villarete pointed out the BRT is being proposed for funding through official development assistance from Japan and that the LRT-MRT plan may be in conflict with that.

“We have to consult Neda on what’s really the situation,” Villarete had said.

But Mamondiong said the two projects are not conflicting.

House Deputy Speaker Raul del Mar, a political ally of Osmeña, has been advocating for an LRT system in Cebu for over a decade and has filed two bills to that effect.

Rep. Eduardo R. Gullas (Cebu Province, 1st district) said that Osmeña’s statements last Saturday reminded him of how the Cebu City mayor drove away Talisay vendors from the Carbon market because they (Osmeña and Gullas) were fighting over the South Road Properties.

federalist

October 18th, 2009, 07:24 PM

according to Mayor Osmena, it will take 3-4 years traffic during the construction period, okay raman na kay inig kahuman longterm solution naman na or at least dakong tabang. kung puede e revise lang ang routediritso nalang unta Sto. Rosario.

according to Railways Usec di man kuno makaapekto sa propose BRT, so kung di makaapekto, why not support the LRT. talking of subsidies maayo pay anha mapunta kwarta sa mga tawo kaysa makurakot ra nga way nakita. ang mga pork barrel sa ubang Congressman ug Senador wa gyuy nakita.

mwg12a

October 18th, 2009, 10:22 PM

Mosuporta si Gwen anang Transaxial Highway basta ilisan ang project name to GWEN (Government Widened, Expanded and Neat) Higway. Sige lang og bakikaw ang acronym, basta GWEN... :nuts:

You know what? I was wondering about that. How come this is the first or more prioritized project than LRT or BRT, it would probably benefit the Cebu province as a whole if there are more transaxial higway all around the island. LRT project would only benefit the ones in Cebu City proper it seems like but what about the rest of the Cebuanos from the whole Island down to Mactan? Unless they are making the whole LRT project applied to the whole island but that's just a mass transit project, what about other things that would require assistance? Like local products and produce, they will need a better transport system for it as well.

mwg12a

October 18th, 2009, 10:25 PM

or like this?

do you want fuente to be like this?

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t63/pvillarete/CEBU-LRT/abovegrade_01.jpg

or like this?

Ewwww, this would be bad for Cebu. But, LRT can also be built on a ground level, not elevated. Traffic lights are synchronized so there is a central operating system for it, they can have it synchronized with LRT or BRT operations.

pookhey

October 18th, 2009, 11:17 PM

Asiatown IT Park
earlier today, 10-18-2009 by me
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2687/4022416010_56746e8d09_o.jpg

ang ganda..........so cosmopolitan.......maganda talkaga pag combination ng greenry and bulidings plus no spaghetti wires............murag gyud siya ug high end and classy kaayo tan awon........

zidlakan

October 19th, 2009, 12:26 AM

Ewwww, this would be bad for Cebu. But, LRT can also be built on a ground level, not elevated. Traffic lights are synchronized so there is a central operating system for it, they can have it synchronized with LRT or BRT operations.

now you're talking! an LRT on ground level carries exactly the same capacity
as a BRT, in some cases even less, because of the headway, and is less
flexible than a BRT because its service plan cannot allow express services. an
LRT at ground level offers exactly the same services as a BRT. in other words,
an LRT at ground level is slightly less efficient than a BRT but cost 5 times as
much. so why even think about it?

jrevalde

October 19th, 2009, 01:15 AM

the fact that manila cant even keep the lrt or mrt profitable despite the high ridership should be a strong enough argument to dissuade people from even thinking about putting up an LRT in cebu. I suspect gullas wants the LRT built here coz he wants a cut of the multibillion peso project. My parents were contractors katong naa pa mi sa cebu. they used to have projects under DPWH, and let me tell you something, Gullas automatically gets a certain percentage of the total project cost for contracts under his district. He is nothing but a greedy, rotten TRAPO.

dodong

October 19th, 2009, 01:16 AM

talking of subsidies maayo pay anha mapunta kwarta sa mga tawo kaysa makurakot ra nga way nakita. ang mga pork barrel sa ubang Congressman ug Senador wa gyuy nakita.

I agree with you bai. Usa pud, basin makaingon lang na sila nga "sige mo reklamo nga ang pundo sa gobyerno gisuyop ra sa imperial manila unya kung tagaan mo, di ninyo dawaton". Ang pait pa jud, maghimo na lang sila projects sa ubang lugar unya apil gihapon ta bayad anang mga projects nila.

Para nako, if the government agencies find the LRT project feasible for Cebu, I support it as long as it does not completely stop or indefinitely postpone the BRT project.

zidlakan

October 19th, 2009, 01:43 AM

bakasaurus

October 19th, 2009, 02:17 AM

Wolfranz

October 19th, 2009, 03:13 AM

Ugh...the sweet smell of kickbacks :lol:
no wonder politicos always insist on bigger and more expensive projects.

"Pinag-aawayan niyo lang ang inyong mga kickbacks!"
-Sen. Miriam Santiago on the ZTE scandal

---

Bye bye, Osmeña Boulevard. Fuente Osmeña. Capitol.

Parsons would've committed suicide if he's alive today.

marxman

October 19th, 2009, 03:18 AM

LRT and BRT...

I think we should first think of small scale and basic considering that cebu city is still quite small compared with other mega cities. we need to reevaluate our road infrastructures... i dont even think BRT is feasible with the current road infrastructure we have... so before anything else lets widen cebu's roads, sidewalks then lets implement BRT (hopefully part of brt implementation is fixing cebu's road condition)... but lets prepare the whole system to integrate with LRT or Subways in the the near future.

GUYS LETS GO BACK TO BASIC BEFORE WE DO ANYTHING ELSE... LETS FIX WHAT WE HAVE BEFORE WE IMPLEMENT SOMETHING NEW!!!

and please if ever LRT is implemented dont let it ply OSMENA BLVD. magkagubot ang tibuok cebu city! maghuramentado ko...

but in reality, you know guys, these plans from our politicians usually comes out right before election... so... you know na! hehe!

CHILLAX mga bisdak!!! Maayong Tingbukad ninyong tanan!

Sleepwalker

October 19th, 2009, 04:06 AM

Mao bitaw kalma ra ko aning LRT nga issue. Kay 99% sure ko di ni madayon... :)

Mas ganahan ko sa Transaxial Highway. Kini nga project, much needed gud kaayo ni.

mAiNsTrEaMhunter

October 19th, 2009, 04:31 AM

^^ WTF...Osmena Circle and Capitol....IMO, madaot gyud ang view sa Jones (Osmena Blvd.)

mogyud! WTF gyud! hala kaluoy intawon sa fuente o og capitol. abi man gud nako ipaagi ra sa former railway sa cebu. from talisay via n bacalso passing to p.del rosario to north road mandaue all the way up north na. bati! BAD!

mao diay lami i-relax kung sunday kay ligiudliguid man diay ang cebuano niya hehehe...

yeah!!!! ako sige ligid-ligid! hahaha

Matay, mangita pa man gani ug kwarta ipatukod ug either BRT or LRT, ganahan na hinuon ka naa ang duha? Nagtuo siguro ka nga daghan ug kwarta ang Pilipinas, noh? Unya, granting nga naa ta anang duha ka systems, tan-awa ang feasibility, bai. The presence of one undermines the necessity for the other, thus, we need only one system for now. Unya asa man ka pili, sa tag-600 million or sa tag 60 million? Aber? Please understand nga this is bigger than politics. You cannot just say nga, "Tumanan nalang unta ni ni Tomas, kay makatukod ra bitaw siya ug BRT bisag naay LRT." WTF?!!!

right sakto ka! dili pwede duha atong traspo system karon kay ang cebu gamay ra intawon ang populasyon as of the moment. kung LRT which is dugay mahimo and costly pa gyud, aw daku gyud ang posibilidad na mastalled ang BRT. kung BRT sad maguna mas maayo unya mas daku pa gyud ang higayon na matunan pagayo ang LRT kay mas dugay man gyud siya planuhon kaysa BRT.

AmbutLang

October 19th, 2009, 04:47 AM

Mao bitaw kalma ra ko aning LRT nga issue. Kay 99% sure ko di ni madayon... :)

Mas ganahan ko sa Transaxial Highway. Kini nga project, much needed gud kaayo ni.

BRT ko para Cebu.
Even NY City is planning to have BRT. It's doing some feasible study. Do you know that most of the bus routes here run above, the same route of the subway part of the way and pick-up by another bus route to continue the route. That is why if there is train trouble, the announcement will say, take the bus upstairs, since it uses the same fare cards.

Eastern Dragon

October 19th, 2009, 04:48 AM

Hiroshima

October 19th, 2009, 04:48 AM

Whoa lively morning discussion here!
Maayong buntag sa tanan!

Quick comment lang usa:

The good thing I can see from the whole thing is the increased publicity of Cebu's mass transport issues! More people can now hear about both BRT and LRT and would be more conscious about these proposed transport solutions which very much concern every Cebuano as it shapes our cities in the near future.

Basta pirmehon ka headline ug front page ang BRT ug LRT..hehehe.

:banana: Good Point!

Sakto gyud ko ni..

Na busy gyud ko last week.. wa ko ka post.. pero ako gyud gilugaran ug basa kay relevant kaau ni na issue (LRT/BRT)

Sa ako ka excited nag email feedback jud daun ko sa usa ka opinion article sa Sunstar stating that the country is paying for the comfortable LRT and only the Manila people is enjoying the ride. Gave also a link to this forum. Hope the author will check the link.

^^

Muhilak gyud ko if mu agi ang LRT sa Jones-Fuente-Capitol area. Kani basin maka apil na gyud kog protesta sa dalan. hahaha

Henz

October 19th, 2009, 04:50 AM

dongRoy

October 19th, 2009, 05:04 AM

with all due respect bai @marxman, since you mentioned going back to the basics.

For over 5000 years the streets or roadways are being utilized by the people, it was only during the early 20th century that cars driven by the dirty internal combustion engine dominated the roads. Now, since we want to go back to the basics, why don't we return our streets to the people instead of building or in this case widening the roads for our cars.

Gagmay ang streets of Cebu City which makes it a lot more ideal for the BRT. Again, what we are aiming at is to become a People Friendly city, not a car friendly city. If the streets would instead be 100% dedicated for collective transport such as the BRT coupled with ample paths for pedestrians and non motorized transport such as bicycles and leave no more room for cars, then we would then have achieved the goal of becoming people friendly. We do not need to widen our road ways, we simply need to take away the cars from the road. Kung wala nay kaagian ang auto, wala nay ganahan magauto.

Muminusan na ang pollution and our children can enjoy playing outside once again. The streets can once again become a safe place for the people to converge. The more we interact with the peole around us, the more harmonious our society can become.

Eastern Dragon

October 19th, 2009, 05:04 AM

i agree, dapat kanang osmena boulevard should have no mrt. or lrt. my suggestion is to have a straight mrt/lrt line from mandaue all the way to talisay. within cebu city proper, except for 2-3 stations, pwede na BRT.

It would be best if we can make cebu more of a bikable/walkable city but sometimes, the heat is unbearable. We should strive to have a greener city, less impervious roads/surfaces, more trees and lesser jeepneys. Just 3 simple targets to avoid urban heat island effect for our beloved city.

something we all need to learn from the mistakes of manila.

zidlakan

October 19th, 2009, 05:06 AM

I agree with you bai. Usa pud, basin makaingon lang na sila nga "sige mo reklamo nga ang pundo sa gobyerno gisuyop ra sa imperial manila unya kung tagaan mo, di ninyo dawaton". Ang pait pa jud, maghimo na lang sila projects sa ubang lugar unya apil gihapon ta bayad anang mga projects nila.

Para nako, if the government agencies find the LRT project feasible for Cebu, I support it as long as it does not completely stop or indefinitely postpone the BRT project.

we could keep repeating and repeating that but in the end, it's truly the nail
in the coffin of the BRT if we endorse the LRT project.

i have been previously advised repeatedly by the multilateral funding
institutions - if the DOTC insists on the cebu LRT, they will not proceed
funding the BRT. and i don't blame them. if i was working for the World Bank
or the ADB, i will have the same stand also.

ako, kung feasible nga duha, why not? it's really an internal struggle for me
and i guess for most of us to assert first our being cebuanos over our being
filipinos. as filipinos, clearly, the LRT proposal is disadvantageous because
it's not financially feasible without subsidy, but as cebuanos, we are some-
times tempted to just accept the project, kung mas maayo pa gani, duha jud,
bahala na nang the rest of the country. sometimes, i'm tempted to think
like that.

however, the real fact remains - we can either endorse the LRT project
(which means giving up on the BRT dream), or we will wait until the studies
are completed before we decide whether to endorse the LRT or not. of
course, i am 90% sure the studies will show the BRT is more viable. but the
city's stand now is, let the studies be completed then we decide.

wa kaha mo magduda nga kadugay na nilang study anand LRT ug early last
year ila na man gani nang na present dinhi, and now, they are just giving
us ONE WEEK to make a decision? a decision that will change the face of
cebu in the next 50 years. unya hulga-on lang ta pag accept in 1 week?
i think april of last year when they presented it to us in ecotech, sudlon, the
DOTC instructed the proponent to coordinate with me and mayor osmena
to thresh out project details and to ensure our concerns are incorporated
in the project design. NEVER did they talk to us, maski tawag na lang sa
telepono, for more than a year! suddenly, they appeared and demanded
an endorsement in one weeks time, gi balahan pa jud ug 4 ka congressman!

away na lang ta. if i know. my inside information shows it stinks! di lang
nako ma post diri kay basin ipa salvage ta, naa pa ko'y pamilya ug anak.

Eastern Dragon

October 19th, 2009, 05:13 AM

it is election time by 2010. there is a legal prohibition of course involving public projects immediately before the elections.

hence, the usual suspects will be rushing this project to ensure their cashflow for the elections and other activities.

this project, will be sealed, signed and delivered before the elections i bet.

bakasaurus

October 19th, 2009, 05:20 AM

I agree completely! We have to wait for the BRT study to finish! Unsa man ang gamit sa kwarta nga gigastos sa DOTC, ADB ug uban pa para sa feasibility studies unya ligsan ra pod dayon sa LRT?

The facts of the case are indeed very disconcerting.

1. Nagplan sila without consulting with Cebu City (this singular fact alone is totally absurd!).
2. Very short time given for decision-making.
3. Padulong na elections, hello?!

I am fully convinced that we should wait til the BRT studies are finished. By that time, humana ang election (mas limpyo na tingali ang mga motibo sa mga politiko), so I hope we can decide well using more of reason and less of passion.

JEFFjr_25

October 19th, 2009, 05:39 AM

Wolfranz

October 19th, 2009, 05:40 AM

i wanna put up a gigantic tarp about this issue at the end of the center island of osmeña boulevard at fuente. The general Cebuano public should really know the importance of this issue.

zidlakan

October 19th, 2009, 05:46 AM

bros,

1. Fortunately or unfortunately, in a democratic society, the voice of the people of the people is through the ballot. that is why we vote for politicians for them to represent us in government since it is not feasible for us to directly govern, hence we deserve the kind of leaders that we elect.

2. On the issue of corruption, the philippines has one of the worst corruption problems in the whole world and that is a sad fact. However, the possibility of abuse is not a valid argument against a good idea because practically all ideas or inventions are susceptible to abuse. For one, let us not build the LRT because dako kayo kaon ang mga buwaya sa government nato. By analogy, we should not have built the second mactan bridge. we should not have built the CICC. we should have not built every bridge in this country because it is susceptible to corruption. true, sad but what is the alternative.

Most of you can still remember how difficult it was to travel to mactan when we only had the second bridge. An I am sure there was some kickback for that bridge to be constructed, are we happy in the end result or not? We cannot be unhappy at the same time use said facilities considering we cannot have our cake and eat it to.

3. My concern about the BRT is that will be a stop gap measure because I am looking at the width of our city roads and I cannot imagine how we are going to designate dedicated bus lanes to accomodate the BRT. The good thing about MRT/LRT is that it is elevated. True, there are some hideous examples of overhead trains but there are also good ones, clean and at least aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. what Mr. Villarete showed was a probably a sample from HK or a chinese city.

But check out some overhead trains from Europe and the US. there are ways to mitigate and in fact integrate such transportation projects within the city.

Cebu province already has about 3+ million inhabitants and not to mention the growing population due to migration from other provinces and other countries.

Cebu can lead the way as it is historically been the best city to live in the Philippines as determined by Asiaweek before. The thing is, there is too much lag between demand and planning to address such demand.

Also, we cannot approach city projects like the SRP or any project for example as non-revenue generating. We are being saddled by interests sa SRP project and you know that all these payments will eventually be shouldered by us and our children and our apo.

The correct approach to government projects should be take into consideration financial returns, as projections can be made from taxes to be collected, jobs and business generated etc. etc. The problem with some government projects like DPWH projects is that these guys pad it over and over again to accomodate kickbacks because they know most government projects which are foreign funded have sovereign guarantee.

Meaning, the government will pay it no matter what. unless of course, the planet explodes but you get the drift.

An effective mass transport system is key to cebu maintaining its status. With proper planning and vigilance, we can make this work. I am not discounting the possibility that there can be a mix of BRT and LRT as this is just a matter of planning and analysis.

But we need to avoid, as what is happening now is paralysis by analysis. aided of course, by politics as usual.

very nice and sound comments. puts our feet on the ground, and inspires
more sober and substantive debates on issues.

a few comments lang on a few items ...

2. ... your assumption is that since corruption is prevalent in the philippines,
we should not object to projects because of that since if it is already the
norm, no project will be implemented. let's just say, i agree with your
proposition (i do not but i am tempted to, he he he), i can counter argue
that between LRT and the BRT, i'll go for the BRT since it will mean less
corruption! both projects will be implemented by DOTC - the US$75 Million
BRT is much less than the US$600 Million LRT. by your argument, the BRT
is still the lesser of 2 evils right?

3. ... actually, the concept there is not necessarily between LRT and BRT.
its the prevailing urban design school of thought that discourages elevated
transport structures. sustainable urbanists points out that there are no
elevated highways in the old cities in europe, at least in their urban centers,
and they seem to be better and much more livable cities that those elsewhere
where flyovers, expressways, and overhead trains dezone the areas where
they pass. there are on-grade LRTs. there are also elevated BRTs (Xiamin,
China; Quito, Ecuador). but in general, and in this particular case in cebu,
the LRT is elevated and the BRT (most probably) will be on-grade. just
imagine osmena boulevard, and imagine the LRT line through it. you're right,
there are also good ones, clean and at least aesthetically pleasing to the
eyes. but not in the philippines, maybe in hongkong or singapore, or europe.

yes its just a matter of planning and analysis. as far as i am concerned,
after being been exposed to all the planning and analysis since 1992, it is
not viable to have both, maybe for the next 15 to 20 years. after that,
maybe we can discuss again. but the discussion after 15 years will be -
whether we add the LRT or just extend the existing BRT, :)

Sleepwalker

October 19th, 2009, 05:47 AM

Sorry for the OT. Share ko lang mga bai pic sa meet up sa SSC Cebu ug Bacolod, for the Masskara 2009 celeb. Daghang salamat. :)

SSC Cebu and SSC Bacolod Meet-up
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2599/4020034004_146f178273.jpg

Salamat, migs...Nag-enjoy gud maayo ang mga taga-SSC-Cebu sa Bacolod dah... :cheers:

i wanna put up a gigantic tarp about this issue at the end of the center island of osmeña boulevard at fuente. The general Cebuano public should really know the importance of this issue.

Nindot ni nga idea bai...Kay mora og kanindot na anang Osmena Blvd nga stretch unya gub-on lang.

Eastern Dragon

October 19th, 2009, 05:58 AM

very nice and sound comments. puts our feet on the ground, and inspires
more sober and substantive debates on issues.

a few comments lang on a few items ...

2. ... your assumption is that since corruption is prevalent in the philippines,
we should not object to projects because of that since if it is already the
norm, no project will be implemented. let's just say, i agree with your
proposition (i do not but i am tempted to, he he he), i can counter argue
that between LRT and the BRT, i'll go for the BRT since it will mean less
corruption! both projects will be implemented by DOTC - the US$75 Million
BRT is much less than the US$600 Million LRT. by your argument, the BRT
is still the lesser of 2 evils right?

3. ... actually, the concept there is not necessarily between LRT and BRT.
its the prevailing urban design school of thought that discourages elevated
transport structures. sustainable urbanists points out that there are no
elevated highways in the old cities in europe, at least in their urban centers,
and they seem to be better and much more livable cities that those elsewhere
where flyovers, expressways, and overhead trains dezone the areas where
they pass. there are on-grade LRTs. there are also elevated BRTs (Xiamin,
China; Quito, Ecuador). but in general, and in this particular case in cebu,
the LRT is elevated and the BRT (most probably) will be on-grade. just
imagine osmena boulevard, and imagine the LRT line through it. you're right,
there are also good ones, clean and at least aesthetically pleasing to the
eyes. but not in the philippines, maybe in hongkong or singapore, or europe.

yes its just a matter of planning and analysis. as far as i am concerned,
after being been exposed to all the planning and analysis since 1992, it is
not viable to have both, maybe for the next 15 to 20 years. after that,
maybe we can discuss again. but the discussion after 15 years will be -
whether we add the LRT or just extend the existing BRT, :)

I am not necessarily admitting the lesser of two evils, just that, the possibility of abuse is not a good argument against anything. be it a government project, a law to be passed. for example, the existence of guns, guns are obviously by their nature, prone to abuse and hence are to be regulated. But it is not prohibited per se. just regulated.

The cure for corruption is not to abolish any project which can be prone to corruption but to include systemic checks to regulate and prevent corruption. By analogy, you do not kill the person because he is carrying the flu virus.

whether it is on grade or elevated will have to be determined based on many factors. cost/proposed route/noise pollution etc. The point is we should pursue something that should be most cost efficient for the taxpayers.

eventually, the law of supply and demand will find equilibrium for this, and we will probably be rewarded with an acceptable product at an acceptable rate for public.

zidlakan

October 19th, 2009, 06:02 AM

3. My concern about the BRT is that will be a stop gap measure because I am looking at the width of our city roads and I cannot imagine how we are going to designate dedicated bus lanes to accomodate the BRT.

first it's not a stop gap measure. curritiba with 3M+ population and bogota with
6.7M+ population are fully BRT without rail, and still even expanding. the list of
BRTs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bus_rapid_transit_systems) in the
world (which incidentally, already included the cebu BRT) proves that it is not
a stop gap measure. @AmbutLang said even NY is now building a BRT! now
why would NY, with its long history and experience in rail resort to a stop gap
measure.

you have just stated one of the biggest hindrance to the BRT - "I cannot
imagine ... " the BRT concept is new, relatively. most, if not all, of us have
not seen a real working BRT. not even me, though hopefully, that will
change in two weeks' time (i'm schedule to visit ahmedabad BRT in india on
oct. 31). it's difficult to imagine how it will work here unless we see the
plans or see it working in other countries. mayor penalosa has been to cebu
twice already and he concluded it will work perfectly in cebu.

that's why the advocay campaign is VERY important! the ordinary cebuano
does not know about the BRT. he/she knows LRT having used it in manila
or saw it on TV. so if you ask him/her what he/she prefers, what will the
vote be? - on something he/she do not know or have not seen?

and that's why i am thankful to SSC - cebu for supporting the advocacy
campaign here in the city. even if your opinion may still be on the LRT, its
okay as long as you know what you are voting on. i hate to think, people
are just preferring the LRT because of lack of full knowledge about the BRT.