A congressman from Cebu on Friday sought a sustainable solution to what he called the “never –ending traffic” in Metro Cebu.
In House Resolution 1592, Cebu Rep. Vincent Franco Frasco sought a cure to the chaotic traffic that has hounded Cebu City and its environs “for a long time.”
HR 1592 directs the House Committees on Transportation and on Good Government and Public Accountability to probe the traffic crisis in Metropolitan Cebu and recommend measures to resolve it.
In the resolution, Frasco stressed the significance of the transportation sector in accelerating economic development, especially in highly urbanized regions.
Metropolitan Cebu is the second fastest growing metropolitan in the country and has played an increasingly significant role in the industrial, commercial, and financial development of the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
However, along with its growing population is the continuous worsening of its traffic situation, Frasco noted.
Citing a study made by the Japan International Cooperation Agency in 2018, the resolution said the unresolved traffic congestion causes an estimated P1.1 billion in economic losses a day.
In addition to the economic setback including loss of productive man hours and loss of business opportunities, Franco said his fellow Cebuanos are greatly affected by the traffic crisis.
“The welfare and convenience of the commuters, their time spent travelling, as well as their health and safety,” Frasco said.
This prompts the need to study the current traffic situation in Metropolitan Cebu and revisit the existing transportation and development policies and projects being implemented therein to truly resolve the problem, the resolution noted.
Frasco expressed hopes that through the investigation, the chamber will be able to come up with doable recommendations that will result in the smoother flow of vehicular traffic in the country’s second largest metropolis.