Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia clarified in a press conference on April 2, 2024 that she ordered the stoppage of bus stations, not the entire Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. 

Garcia said that her critics may have misunderstood the intention of a memorandum she issued on February 27, 2024.

In a report on Capitol’s news portal, Sugbo News, Garcia said the order was “basically a cease-and-desist order directed at the project implementers of the BRT bus stations along Osmeña Boulevard, a Capitol-owned property annotated as road lot in its titles.”

“Klaruhon ta ni ha, sabta palihug. Wa gyoy nag-ingon undanga ang BRT. Ang akong giingon, ang bus stations,” Garcia said in a press conference.

The governor, along with Capitol legal team, bared the land titles which attested that the Province of Cebu is the owner of properties not only within the Capitol Compound but also down Osmeña Boulevard, on which two BRT stations were supposed to be built, and the roads around Fuente Circle.

Garcia issued Memorandum No. 16-2024 directed at the BRT team and contractor because the “bus stations that will be built along Osmeña Boulevard right in front of the Capitol Building will have a negative impact on the cultural integrity of the building.” 

“Kon mao na ilang design, wa moy permiso namo, kami tag-iya ana nga yuta, wala gani mo nikonsulta sa NCCA [National Commission for Culture and the Arts], wala moy authorization,” Garcia said.

Dr. Jose Eleazar Bersales, Capitol consultant on cultural and historical affairs, who is also a member of the advisory board of the NCCA, alerted the governor of potential cultural and heritage violations of the BRT bus stations in front of the Capitol.

The Provincial Capitol Building was declared a National Historical Landmark in 2008 and an Important Cultural Property in 2020. 

Attorney Rory Jon Sepulveda, Capitol legal consultant, said that the governor’s move is based on her being a steward of Capitol properties, like Osmeña Boulevard, as well as the governor’s sworn duty to uphold all laws, legal orders, and decrees of the country.  

“That’s basically the first angle of that order of the Governor to stop. That’s our property, you have to stop. Why? Not only are you using our property without our clear consent, you’re using our property to deface a cultural heritage site which is the Provincial Capitol,” Atty. Sepulveda said.

(via Sugbo News)