FOR DEMOLITION. The skywalk on Fuente Osmeña Rotunda in the uptown area of Cebu City. The Office of the Building Official will decide the fate of this structure, along with other skywalks on Osmeña Blvd. as the Department of Transportation recommended their demolition, to pave the way for the construction of the BRT terminals. (Photo courtesy of Lucky Malicay)
CEBU CITY – The Office of the Building Official (OBO) will soon decide the fate of the two skywalk structures along a boulevard where the Department of Transportation plans to build a terminal for the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
Architect Florante Catalan, head of this city’s OBO, said the office is yet to receive a document from the “legal owner” of the two skywalks constructed years ago on Osmeña Blvd. and served as above-ground walkways for pedestrians.
Catalan explained that the DOTr, particularly the Cebu BRT Project Management Office, recommended the demolition of the two structures, referring to the skywalk located along Osmeña Boulevard, specifically near the Fuente Osmeña Circle and near the Cebu Normal University (CNU).
His office has issued a suspension against the demolition until a document is provided allowing to tear down the walkways.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) constructed the two skywalks using congressional funds. The structures were turned over to the Cebu City local government unit as the “end users.”
“I need a document to be submitted to OBO for the lifting of the suspension (of the demolition),” Catalan said.
It can be recalled that Mayor Michael Rama did not object to a resolution of the Cebu City Council in May this year, recommending the demolition of the two skywalks in support of the CBRT management’s plan to demolish the structures.
Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, in the resolution she authored, recommended the tearing down of the two skywalks, which she said, had impeded the construction of the BRT terminals.
Engr. Norvin Imbong, CBRT project manager, said the contractor would be the one to demolish the two structures. (PNA)
