Cebu City Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña has filed a proposed resolution urging the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to completely reject the realignment of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project and restore its original route from Barangay Bulacao in the south to Barangay Talamban in the north. The resolution argues that the revised alignment would defeat the project's original purpose of serving the city's commuting public.
Original Alignment Under Threat
According to Osmeña, the proposed realignment would redirect the southern end of the CBRT from Barangay Bulacao to SM Seaside City Cebu in the South Road Properties (SRP), with the route ending at Ayala Center Cebu. The vice mayor emphasized that the original Bulacao-Talamban alignment was not arbitrarily selected but resulted from years of technical studies, transportation planning, and stakeholder consultations aimed at establishing a modern, efficient, and environmentally sustainable mass transportation system for Cebu City.
Osmeña argued that the original route was specifically designed to serve densely populated residential communities and major commuter corridors, allowing the project to benefit the greatest number of daily passengers. In contrast, he stated that the proposed SM Seaside SRP-Ayala alignment substantially departs from the route that had been presented to the public, government agencies, funding institutions, and stakeholders during the project's planning and approval stages.
Public Purpose and Integrity at Stake
The resolution warns that abandoning the original alignment could deprive thousands of commuters living along the Bulacao-Talamban corridor of the transportation services they were promised when the CBRT project was first conceptualized. Osmeña maintained that the Bulacao-Talamban corridor remains the route most responsive to the transportation needs of ordinary Cebuanos and continues to offer the greatest opportunity to improve mobility across the city.
He also underscored that the financial and technical assistance extended by the World Bank for the CBRT project was secured based on the original alignment, which had been presented as the corridor capable of serving the largest number of commuters while delivering the greatest public benefit. Preserving the original alignment, he said, is a matter of protecting the integrity of a project that had already undergone years of planning, consultations, and funding approvals.
Resolution and Opposition
The proposed resolution cites City Council Resolution 17-3273-2026, which previously raised the issue and was later referred by the Office of the President to the DOTr for appropriate action. If adopted, the resolution will formally urge the DOTr to restore and fully implement the CBRT project along its original Bulacao-Talamban alignment, consistent with the route upon which the project was conceived, studied, approved, funded, and presented to the people of Cebu City.
During recent City Council deliberations, Osmeña strongly opposed any deviation from the project's original alignment, warning that he would resign as vice mayor if the council endorsed changes favoring the SM Seaside City Cebu-Ayala Center Cebu corridor. He said, "The proposed realignment significantly alters the project's intended service area, beneficiary population, and public purpose."
