Cebu’s bus rapid transit project told: No tree-cutting please

The regional environment office in Cebu has denied a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) request for permission to cut at least 300 trees along major thoroughfares in Cebu City for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

Dr Isabelo Montejo, regional executive director of DENR-7, said in a news briefing on Friday, May 15, that the regional DENR office has denied the request to allow the cutting of the trees, and returned it to DPWH last month.

The BRT is a much-awaited project of the Cebu City government that is expected to ease traffic congestion. The project is the first of its kind and will be patterned after the BRT system in Curitba, Brazil where a specialized mass transportation bus with an exclusive lane will ferry passengers just like a train but cheaper in operational costs.

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