CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — Cebu City Councilor Winston F. Pepito, chair of the transportation committee, has directly appealed to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to prioritize the completion of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) project, following years of delay despite being hailed as a vital solution to the worsening traffic crisis here.
In a letter dated February 8, 2026, Pepito urged Malacañang, through Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto, to elevate the CBRT as a national priority and ensure its completion through strong inter-agency coordination.
Copies of the letter were also furnished to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Pepito lamented that only Phase 1 of the CBRT has been partially completed, covering a limited stretch that commuters find insufficient to demonstrate the system’s full potential.
He pressed for the continuation of Phases 2, 3, and 4, which would extend the corridor from Barangay Bulacao in the south to Barangay Talamban in the north.
“Dapat mahuman gyud ni ang CBRT para ma-realize sa mga tawo kung unsa ni siya ka-effective ug unsa ka nindot. Karon, ang nahuman ang Phase 1, dili siya enough para ma-appreciate sa katawhan kay mubo ra man kaayo ang area,” Pepito said in an interview with reporters yesterday, adding that the repeated postponement of the Phase 1 inauguration with the President present has deepened public frustration.
President Marcos Jr. said during the ground-breaking ceremony in February 27, 2023 that he was targeting the partial operation of the CBRT in December of the same year, saying it would be “the best possible Christmas gift that we can give to Cebu.” But it failed.
The CBRT was first conceptualized in the mid-2000s, with feasibility studies supported by the World Bank. In 2014, NEDA approved the project with financing from the World Bank and the French Development Agency.
The DOTr formally launched it in 2015, targeting completion by 2021. However, right-of-way disputes, design revisions, and heritage concerns stalled progress for years.
Civil works finally gained traction in 2023, and by mid-2025, DOTr announced a pilot run covering three major stations.
Yet by December 2025, the World Bank flagged implementation as “unsatisfactory,” warning that completion remained at risk despite partial progress on Package 1 civil works.
Mayor Nestor Archival, in his latest press conference at the City Hall, shared that the CBRT was discussed in its latest meeting in Manila with other local executives in the region, along with national agencies, noting that the DOTr is exploring Public-Private Partnership arrangements to sustain funding.
“Nadiscuss pud na namo…naa sa budget o naa sa direction sa DOTr nga ipadayon ang BRT..,with PPP-Public Private Partnership…Pangitaan nila ug takers,” said Archival.
However, Archival said that the inauguration of Phase 1 remains uncertain. “Wala pa lagi…naghuwat lang gyud ta sa Manila,” he added.
Pepito stressed that Cebu, the country’s second-largest metropolitan area, has been left behind in modern mass transport compared to Metro Manila, which already has multiple rail and bus rapid transit systems. He warned that Cebu’s economic growth will continue to suffer if the CBRT remains unfinished.
“Unlike sa Manila, daghan na sila og mass transport system, unya kita, nabiyaan na gyud ta. So, mabiyaan pud ang atong ekonomiya ug dili ni siya pagapokusan,” he said.
For Pepito, completing the CBRT would not only ease congestion and provide reliable public transport for millions of Cebuanos but also stand as a defining achievement of the Marcos administration in the Visayas, reflecting decisive leadership and a genuine commitment to long-term urban solutions.
| Written by Caecent No-ot Magsumbol, Preciosa L. Bacalso
