CONSTRUCTION of the three-story new city hall is expected to resume soon following the recommendation of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines that it should incorporate in its facade the design of the city hall that was built in 1925.

Mayor Belen Fernandez said the NHC team presented its recommendation during an inspection of the old city hall last July 15 and other sites that were declared as heritage sites in Dagupan City.

Fernandez hailed NHCP’s recommendation to ensure that a semblance of the old city hall is incorporated in the new city hall being built.

This is because the facade of the new city hall being built in front of the old one was designed like an ordinary coffee shop with nothing that reminds of Dagupan’s memories of the past.

Construction of the new city hall was started during the past Lim administration and was allotted P60 million without a single consultation with NHCP, P45 million of which was already collected by the contractor, RA Matias Construction. The P15 million remaining balance is still uncollected.

Another P40 million was allocated for the second phase but the amount needed for the third and fourth phases has not been undetermined.

Fernandez said the structure can only accommodate from eight to nine of the 46 offices of the Dagupan City government with its parking area designed to accommodate only less than 20 vehicles.

Fernandez said NHC has yet to decide whether it should recommend the total demolition of the old city hall building. (Leonardo Micua)

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