Capitol building repairs seen to be finished next month

Ethel Natera

OFFICIALS and employees of the Cebu provincial government may resume holding office inside the Legislative Building where repairs will be finished in the middle of next month.

Provincial Information Officer Ethel Natera said repairs on the building that was struck by the Oct. 15 earthquake last year began last month.

She said the repairs were done based on the “build back better” principle of Task Force Paglig-on.

“It is not just a matter of repair. If we will have to spend for it then we’ll have to build it back better,” she said.

The provincial government spent P6.8 million for the repairs done by Loren Builders.

The Cebu Provincial Board and their staff were forced to vacate the Legislative Building after the ceiling collapsed and its walls sustained cracks caused by last year’s earthquake.

As of present, the PB is holding offices in the Capitol’s Main Building while Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale occupies the Dignitary Room in the same edifice.

The main building which sustained hairline cracks from the tremblor was already retrofitted last month.

Repairs are also ongoing for the Cebu Cultural Center (CCC) and is pegged to cost P7.5 million including the repair of its acoustics.

The Provincial Engineering Office has yet to address the condemned Baex Building which used to house the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the province and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).