THE troubled Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, which at this point last month seemed to be in imminent danger of being scrapped altogether, has apparently been saved with the awarding of a PPP (public-private partnership) contract for its operation to infrastructure developer Megawide. That the project will continue to go forward is a good thing. There are, however, lingering questions and many other things about the planning and administration of the project that are likely to leave a bad taste in some mouths, particularly in Cebu, for some time to come.
To recall, the city of Cebu had been warned by the World Bank, which is providing the lion's share of the funding for the project, that it would be at risk of being terminated entirely if the city council did not approve the plan for the relocation of 54 informal settler families by Dec. 15. This was an obstacle because the city council was at sword points with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the National Housing Authority (NHA) over the property that had been chosen by the DOTr and was reluctant to take on possible future legal liability for a choice the city had no real control over.
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