Cebu won’t change P1.5-B capitol project amid flak

Despite criticisms from heritage advocates, the province of Cebu will pursue its original plan of the proposed construction of 20-story building inside the capitol compound.

The provincial government will also stick to its earlier decision to lease out several floors of the Cebu Provincial Resource Center so it can pay off the P1.5-billion loan it will take out for the construction of the building.

“That’s our way of repaying our obligation to the bank. And according to the projection of the architects, the province will be able to pay off the loan within 10 years,” Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III said.

The province recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) through its chairman, former Sen. Alberto Romulo, for the P1.525-billion 10-year omnibus loan that will be used for the construction of a 20-story resource center inside the capitol compound in Cebu City.

Under the agreement, the capitol will start paying the interest from the first month up to the 36th month; and the principal amount will be paid on the 37th up to 120th month. The loan has a fixed interest rate of 2.9 percent per annum.

The governor assured the Cebuanos and the taxpayers that they will not bear the burden of paying the loan.

In a worst-case scenario that the resource center will not earn, Davide said the loan payments will be taken from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) that the province will receive from the national government.

The provincial government is expected to get an additional IRA in 10 years of at least P2.617 billion. Of this amount, five percent is earmarked as disaster fund.

Architect Melba Java, a heritage consultant in Cebu, has recommended to remove the commercial aspect of the proposed P1.5-billion capitol building project.

“The seat of the government speaks dignity. It speaks for democracy. It speaks for public service. If we put in high-rise building here, which is partly still in the spaces, and there is a commercial (space included to it), we can say that the commerce is more important than the seat of governance and service to the people,” she said.

Citing the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, Java said historic areas must be protected from unnecessary additions and misguided changes which may harm the authenticity, harmony and aesthetic feeling of a landmark.

The provincial government has proposed to build a 20-storey resource center edifice as this would decongest the offices within the exiting capitol building and gain additional revenues at the same time with some of its spaces to be leased out to commercial establishments.

Java explained that anything within the buffer zone, especially the soon-to-be 80-year old capitol building, must be treasured and well-managed.

She suggested that the “best solution” to office congestion is to retrofit and to use the Palace of Justice building located at the central part of the compound.

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