Transportation chief visits Cebu, Bohol

The Manila Times

Transportation chief visits Cebu, Bohol  Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon visits the Cebu Provincial Capitol on March 8, 2025 and says in an interview that the collapse of the Cabagan–Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela on Feb. 27 points to the need for routine inspections and timely repairs to ensure public safety as he reiterated the government’s commitment to prioritizing infrastructure upkeep. He also said that the government would not tolerate misconduct among Land Transportation Office (LTO) personnel, following the incident in Panglao, Bohol where five LTO enforcers were dismissed after they were caught on video manhandling a farmer on board a motorcycle, which sparked public outrage. Dizon said he instructed the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to study the possibility of constructing a new roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) port in the historic Fort San Pedro in Iloilo City.   VIDEOS BY KAISER JAN FUENTES AND RJAY ZURIAGA CASTOR  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net     Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes #TMTNews #Philippines #Transportation

Transcript

00:00Bridges are critical infrastructure, because if there are no bridges, there will be no connectivity,

00:09like in Cebu. Bridges are the most critical pieces of infrastructure because they connect the two islands,

00:17across the tri-city area, and one more, towards the south or the north.

00:24So, it's important that these bridges always are checked, and with modern technology, this is no longer the case.

00:33So I think our DPWH will be doing this.

00:38The good thing is, we now have bridges that are under public-private partnership, like CCX,

00:45and we can rely now on the private sector to also assist government.

00:51So, like this, the Metro Pacific, I think this is one of the most beautiful bridges in the country,

00:59and very well built, but the maintenance is critical.

01:03And I think sometimes, or more often than not, that is where government needs help.

01:11Because of a lot of restrictions and the lack of capacity,

01:17then the maintenance of these facilities, not just bridges, but bridges, airports, railways, ports, is lacking.

01:28It's very easy to act if you're a public servant.

01:34Because you are supposed to serve, and you're supposed to take care of it.

01:37Even if there are instances where our citizens violate the law, or are disrespectful,

01:46or we, servants of the people, law enforcers especially, have to always practice maximum tolerance.

01:56Like in the Bohol incident, maybe the city member said something bad,

02:05but that does not justify at all the kind of physical maltreatment that we received from the law enforcers,

02:12which was really excessive.

02:14So, that's why we acted very swiftly.

02:16It happened on Friday.

02:18We just sent one of our assistant secretaries here to investigate.

02:22But on Monday, we made the swift decision to dismiss the five law enforcers.

02:29And I think this sends a very strong message that the President will not tolerate this sort of behavior from people in government, especially law enforcers.

02:38What things have you filed?

02:40We're still looking at it.

02:41The LBO is still studying what cases we filed.

02:44I heard also the family of Ma'am Byrd, we also filed.

02:49The flooding will be the protocol.

02:52That's underway now.

02:54Because, for example, in motorcycles, I'm sure you also see it here in the city.

03:00Do you see a lot of enforcers flooding motorcycles?

03:04Well, we have to fix it immediately.

03:07Because I think Iloilo is one of the fastest, if not the fastest growing city in the country.

03:16Under the leadership of Mayor Jerry, Governor, Jojo, Jam, everybody here.

03:22I think they've really shown the entire country how fast a city can grow with the right kind of leadership.

03:33And the national government really needs to support the local leadership of the city and the province.

03:42So, we came here.

03:44In fact, this is my first trip outside of Metro Manila.

03:49First time in Iloilo.

03:50And it shows how important Iloilo is in the transportation development of the country.

03:57And the most important asset of Iloilo is this international airport.

04:02There are a lot of flights.

04:04It's already more than 2 million passengers per year.

04:09But we need to develop it quickly.

04:12So, we assured the mayor and the governor that the OPR will fast-track the current PPP proposal from the VDR group

04:24in order to ensure the sustainable development and growth of the airport to support the growth of the city.

04:34We gave them an update.

04:35We are already at a very advanced stage of the unsolicited proposal.

04:41And hopefully, within the year, this can already be completed.

04:46With me is PPA GM Jason Chago.

04:49He's also with me.

04:50And one important request of Mayor Jerry is the Roro Port here in Fort San Pedro.

04:59But I know there were some issues in the past because of the historical significance of the port.

05:05So, the agreement is PPA will be presenting plans that will ensure the protection of the historical site, Fort San Pedro.

05:20GM Jay agreed to present the new plan this week because it's very critical that we have a new Roro Port.

05:32So, those two things we will be doing for Iloilo City.

05:50For more information, please visit www.iloilo.org

05:56For more information, please visit www.iloilo.org

Category

Transcript

Recommended