ILOILO City – The city government here formally kicked off the construction of its first-ever legislative building.
On Monday, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the P246.89-million Iloilo Legislative Building on the Kerr Compound adjacent to the Iloilo City hall building.
Mayor Jerry Treñas said the city government has the “unyielding courage and unwavering commitment” in creating projects despite the challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The walls of this building that will house our legislators will be the witness to the hard work and perseverance of our local government leaders as they craft ordinances and resolutions for the betterment of the city, and generate resources and revenues for the city’s development plans, program objectives and priorities,” Treñas said.
He added that providing the city legislators a more conducive working environment is also “entrusting them a big chunk” of the city’s future.
The eight-storey legislative building is funded through supplement budgets from the city’s general fund for calendar year 2017 and 2019.
With a total floor area of 4,320 square meters, the building is expected to be completed in eight months, according to City Architect Regina Gregorio.
The building will house the offices of the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) and SP secretariat, conference rooms, session halls, an auditorium with a capacity of over 250, a cafeteria, and the office of the building official at the ground level.With the new building, Gregorio said the main city hall building would be decongested.
It will have a connecting bridge from the third level to the main building.
Cong. Julienne Baronda, meanwhile, said the structure “will help us serve the people better”.
Ilonggo senator Franklin Drilon, who also joined the virtual program, said this project funded without any assistance from the national government shows that Iloilo is way self-sufficient than other cities and local government units./PN
