Deferment of BRT property payments sought

Local

THE Cebu City Legal Office has recommended putting BRT property payments in Mambaling on hold pending guidance from the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

The recommendation covers properties along F. Vestil Street affected by the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project and comes after the Cebu City Council rejected the proposed realignment of the BRT in July.

In a legal opinion, the City Legal Office advised the CBRT Project Management Office (CBRT-PMO) to coordinate with the DOTr before proceeding with payment processing for project-affected property owners.

The opinion was issued in response to a request from CBRT-PMO Head Ma. Concepcion Encabo on the next steps for processing payments for properties being acquired for the project.

Encabo endorsed the legal opinion to Councilor Winston Pepito, chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Transportation, on Sept. 17. Pepito endorsed it to the council on Sept. 21 for information and guidance.

The City Legal Office said the council resolution, approved on July 3, represents the official position of the Sangguniang Panlungsod but does not have the force and effect of law to effectively cancel the proposed BRT realignment.

It said authority to determine the alignment and implementation of the BRT project rests with the DOTr, subject to applicable laws and funding conditions.

Because the national agency may or may not adopt the position of the City Council, the legal office recommended that the CBRT-PMO make representations to the DOTr regarding the payment of the affected properties.

“During the pendency of such query,” the legal opinion said, it would be prudent for the CBRT-PMO to hold in abeyance the processing of the payments.

The recommendation, however, does not mean affected property owners lose their right to compensation.

The City Legal Office specifically noted that the council’s rejection of the proposed realignment does not, by itself, extinguish an affected person’s right to just compensation.

The July resolution rejected the proposed realignment and called for the restoration of the BRT’s original alignment from Barangay Bulacao in the south to Barangay Talamban in the north.

It also urged the DOTr to preserve what the council described as the original design and objectives of the project.

The City Legal Office also cited an earlier council resolution approved on April 14, which called on the Office of the President and the World Bank to review the current realignment and restore the original South Bulacao-to-North Talamban route.

The April resolution was among the documents considered in the latest legal advice.

The City Legal Office emphasized, however, that its opinion is recommendatory and was based only on the documents and facts submitted to it. It said the opinion should not be treated as the final decision on the matter.

The CBRT-PMO is advised to seek the DOTr’s position on the affected F. Vestil properties before proceeding with payment processing.

The compensation process is therefore pending while the city seeks clarification on whether the properties remain necessary under the BRT alignment that will ultimately be implemented.(TGP)