LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The municipal government recently bid out the multimillion initial phase of the rehabilitation of the municipal hall so that the project will commence the soonest.
Mayor Romeo K. Salda reported that the initial funds earmarked for the project will cover the programmed renovation at the back and some parts of the frontage of the municipal hall that will be implemented this year.
However, he admitted that because of the significant increase in the prices of construction materials, the earlier cost of the renovation of the municipal hall pegged at P150 million will surely increase which means the municipal government will have to source out additional funds to cover the projected increase in costs.
The Mayor admitted that the balance of the funds previously earmarked for the project plus the computed increase will be included in the proposed annual budget of the municipal government for next year to ensure the completion of the programmed works that will improve the current state of the municipal hall and allow the offices to better serve the increasing demand of the public for the delivery of quality services.
Mayor Salda underscored the importance of pursuing the proposed renovation of the municipal hall to allow the expansion of the offices to effectively and efficiently address the issues and concerns of the people being brought to the concerned officers for appropriate action and provide convenience to the public transacting businesses with the various offices of the local government.
He appealed to the public for patience and understanding for the expected inconveniences they will encounter once the renovation works starts but which will be replaced with more convenience when transacting businesses with the said offices once the proposed project will be completed.
According to him, as the province’s capital town and center for trade, commerce and education, it is also important that the seat of government will be improved to be at par with the standards of local governments that are in the higher classes of the spectrum of governance.
He expressed hope the contractor can complete the initial works covered by the available funds so that the offices occupying the back portion of the municipal hall will be able to transfer to their new offices to pave the way for the implementation of the renovation of the front portion of the structure which is expected to be completed by next year.
La Trinidad is a first-class municipality being groomed as a city because of its ability to comply with the 2 major requisites, such as in terms of internally-generated income that is over P100 million and its population which is more than 100,000 inhabitants.
However, its land area of more than 8,000 hectares is not sufficient to meet the minimum of 10,000 hectares land area for a first-class municipality to be converted into a city.
La Trinidad is also banking on a proposal in Congress for the conversion of capital towns of provinces into cities as its option into becoming the third city in the Cordillera.
