Radaza notes that workers are taking the brunt of the effects of the city’s traffic congestion which are associated to stress. Radaza proposes for the Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA) to consider adjusting their workers’ schedules. In Lapu-Lapu City, Mayor Paz Radaza points to the city’s rapid urbanization as the source of its traffic woes. Mandaue came next to Cebu City which registered a total private car volume of 22 percent. It happens throughout the Philippines,” Quisumbing added.Ī study conducted by JICA’s project team for the Master Plan Study and Institutional Development on Urban Transport System found that private cars made up 21 percent of Mandaue City’s total traffic volume. “There is really a lack of urban planning. Usa sa nakadakong problema (This is one of the biggest problem we have now),” he said. “Unfortunately, mas paspas ang pagbaligya ug pagpalit sa mga awto (the selling and buying of cars is faster) compared to the legal process of road widening. He notes the growing number of vehicles on the streets of Metro Cebu and the lack of proper urban planning. Quisumbing hopes to open sea travel between Mandaue City and Mactan Island, especially when the actual construction of the P946-million UN Avenue Tri-Level Depressed Project begins. Unfortunately, while the road works are under construction, it will cause further traffic but after that, it will be so much better,” he said. We feel the support from the national government. “It would really help solve road congestion. Avenue designed to ease traffic in areas leading to Marcelo Fernan Bridge and the rehabilitation of an eight-lane expressway along Ouano Avenue which connects the cities of Cebu and Mandaue through the North Reclamation Area. Mandaue City is currently the recipient of two big ticket projects from DPWH: A Tri-Level Depressed Project along U.N. The mayor welcomes the creation of more road networks and other infrastructure by the Department of Public Works ang Highways (DPWH) and supports a mass transport system. In Mandaue City, Mayor Gabriel Luis ‘Luigi’ Quisumbing, whose family owns the Cebu-based motorcycle manufacturer and distributor Norkis Group of Companies, views traffic from both from the perspective of the private and public sectors. Hilario Davide III has called on members of Mega Cebu to find ways to alleviate the worsening traffic congestion in the metropolis under the Mega Cebu perspective of looking at governance and development from a big picture and not on an individual LGU-specific scale.Įxcept for Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña who withdrew Cebu City’s participation from the MCDCB in 2016, all the local chief executives of cities and towns in Metro Cebu support plans for a unified traffic approach. The urgency of a unified approach to Cebu’s urban problems has become even more apparent with Metro Cebu’s P1.1 billion losses in economic opportunities daily due to traffic as estimated by JICA in a 2018 first quarter report.

In the Mega Cebu concept, the total island population will rise to 12 million by the year 2050, making the need for strategic, unified and concerted development efforts not only necessary but urgent. “Now, more than ever, it is necessary for the 13 local governments, national government agencies, private sector, and civil society to come together in a collective effort to collaborate and cooperate in defining the future of Metro Cebu,” said JICA. The major urban issues and challenges are “transboundary” in nature, therefore, extend beyond the geopolitical boundaries, the report added. “The current population of 2.5 million of Metro Cebu is anticipated to double by 2050, and challenges of rapid growth and urbanization will be constrained by the resource and infrastructure limitations,” said a report from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Metro Cebu consists of the seven cities of Carcar, Cebu, Danao, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Naga, Talisay, and six municipalities of Compostela, Consolacion, Cordova, Liloan, Minglanilla, and San Fernando. Partnership and cooperation among all stakeholders is encouraged while LGUs are called on to collaborate and coordinate policies, plans, programs, projects, and practices to address common and trans-boundary assets, issues, and challenges. Solving Metro Cebu’s worsening traffic situation is not just a problem for the cities and towns of the metropolis but for the entire province of Cebu, as well.įor the Metro Cebu Development Coordinating Board (MCDCB), which spearheads a program known as Mega Cebu, the problem is a shared responsibility between the public and private sector.

Traffic gridlock