DAVIDE
CEBU Gov. Hilario Davide III has dismissed, outright, the proposal of heritage advocate Jobers Bersales to transfer the planned construction of a 20-storey building within the Capitol compound to another site.
Davide said bringing the project outside Metro Cebu would defeat the purpose of the proposed P1.5 billion high-rise building which is aimed to provide more services to the public.
“I am sorry. With all due respect to his suggestion, that will defeat our purpose. Thanks but no thanks,” Davide said in a press conference, Friday.
He said the modern building should be built in Cebu City and near to the Provincial Capitol.
Davide, however, clarified that he was open to suggestions pertaining to the building’s design in compliance with national laws as the Capitol has been recognized as a National Historical Landmark in 2008.
Republic Act No. 10066, otherwise known as the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, provides the protection and conservation of the national cultural heritage.
Bersales, who is also a columnist of Cebu Daily News, suggested that the governor might consider moving the proposed high-rise building outside Metro Cebu; while making the old Capitol building as the center of tourism and culture.
The planned 20-storey Provincial Resource building inside the Capitol compound drew negative reactions from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) as it was considered to be too high to be built next to a historical landmark, the Capitol building.
NHCP Commissioner Rene Escalante, in a letter to Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino dated March 2, 2017 said the planned building will distort the balance and symmetry of the old Capitol building.
However, Davide assured that the new building will not block the view of the old Capitol building depending on a person’s perspective.
The governor said the provincial government has complied with all the requirements of the NHCP such as the conduct of public consultation and the issuance of a building permit from Cebu City’s Office of the Building Official (OBO).
“We complied with all those. I hope dili na ta magproblema na (we will not have a problem anymore),” Davide said.