SP finally puts end to lying-in hospital
THE Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) has practically drove the last nail to the coffin of the controversial Maternal Child Care and Lying-in Clinic of the past city administration when it passed a resolution on second reading realigning the P27 million fund for the project to support urgent and important projects of incumbent Mayor Belen Fernandez.
The resolution, authored by Councilor Jeslito Seen, was approved by the SP on second reading after a hearing by the committee of the whole, which was not attended by any member of the minority.
A third and final reading is set on August 26.
Vice Mayor and SP presiding officer Brian Lim did not offer a word of opposition to the resolution that finally put an end to the project of his father, former Mayor Benjamin Lim, but noted that he was not invited during an earlier meeting of the City Development Council (CDC) that endorsed the realignment of the fund.
Seen cited CDC Resolution No. 02, s. 2003 stating that the construction of the proposed hospital is not viable without a permit from the Department of Health, the non-approval from the Department of Education (DepEd) involving the project site, and the facility was deemed redundant in view of the ongoing expansion of the Region 1 Medical Center located in the city.
The same CDC resolution and CDC Resolution No. 03 s. 2013, meanwhile, cited various development projects for 2013 in response to the priorities of the new city administration.
Among the projects to be funded by the realigned P27 million include the purchase of one dump truck, P1.6 million; rehabilitation of Material Recovery Facility, P1.4 million; construction of covered courts at East Central Elementary School, North Central Elementary School and Bonuan Boquig Elementary School, P15 million at P3 million each; and a 10-classroom, two-storey concrete school building at Carael, P9 million.
The P27 million was taken by the past city administration from the Annual Investment Plan of 2011, 2012 and 2013.
An additional P7 million came from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), which can be realigned only with the consent of the DILG.
Another P2.5 million was already collected by A.S.S Construction as mobilization fee although the project never took off as the DepEd did not give its consent to the transfer of the Juan P. Guadiz Elementary School to a new storey building built by the former mayor within the compound of the West Central School.
The site of the Juan P. Guadiz School was eyed to be the site of the hospital.
Seen proposed to the SP to conduct an inquiry on why the P2.5 million was already paid as mobilization fee when no work was done.
He said the SP would explore the possibility of recovering the P2.5 million from the contractor.
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