Groundbreaking rites for Silay City’s P1B New Govt Center set Wednesday

The groundbreaking rites for the two-storey New Government Center of Silay City is slated on Wednesday, Feb. 9.

Among invited guests are Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and 3rd District Congressman Jose Francisco Benitez.

The P1 billion New Government Center of Silay will soon be a reality, according to City Mayor Mark Golez.

Golez said it will be located in a 6.5-hectare property in Hacienda Maquina, Brgy. Rizal, under which was donated by the family of Rob Jalandoni, who also donated the sites of Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital, Domus Dei and the Doña Monserrat Lopez Memorial High School, all in the city.

The deed of donation of the 6.5-hectare lot was signed last year by Golez, representing the local government unit, and representatives of the Jalandoni family, upon concurrence of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.

As stated in the memorandum of agreement, Golez said that the construction of the P1-B New Government Center should be completed within a period of four years.

DBP Loan

Golez said that the P1 billion budget will be sourced out through a loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
The two-storey New Government Center will spur development in those areas, which is near to the Bacolod-Negros Occidental economic highway that traverses from Bacolod City to Victorias City, and definitely to change the landscape of Silay City, he added.
It would be a design and build project, which promotes the Silaynon heritage, Golez also said.

Old City Hall

On the other hand, the 54-year-old Silay City Hall will be transformed into a museum, or to house the various national government offices, he further said.

Earlier, the city government of Silay also donated a 2,000-square meter lot for the construction of a new police station in Brgy. Mambulac, where the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), as well as the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), already constructed their respective facilities, with 2,000-square meter each lot they also acquired from the city government.

It will soon be a one-stop-shop for those having transactions with various agencies under the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), he added.

Sanitary Landfill

Golez also said that the 3.5-hectare sanitary landfill of Silay, will soon be inaugurated in March, the construction of which was also financed through a P100 million loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

The 3.5-hectare lot was an absolute donation of his father,Jimmy Golez, he added.

Golez considers the P1-B New Government Center and the P100-M sanitary landfill as his landmark infrastructure projects, during his incumbency as mayor of Silay. He is running for reelection this May.

Because of the Supreme Court’s Mandanas ruling, Golez reported that the National Tax Allocation of Silay rose from P800 million to P1.020 billion starting this year.

While they have a credit line of P1.4 billion to secure loans with DBP, Golez said the city government prefers to only have a P1 billion loan.* (JFV)