BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan ordered the City General Services Office and the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) to facilitate the immediate utilization of the proposed city hall museum underneath the newly constructed stage in front of the city hall main building so that the local government will have a permanent depository area for its artefacts to serve as a learning avenue for residents and visitors alike.
The local chief executive said that it has already been so long a time that the said area has been completed by the contractor and appropriate mitigating measures have also been put in place to prevent the reported leaks on the structure, thus, the need for the local government to already use the area as planned.
“We have to already designate an area where we could deposit our artefacts and identify an area where we could also put up our sisterhood corner and the proposed city hall museum is the most fitting area for the said purpose, ”Domogan stressed.
He cited the example of the city’s sister city in Shepparton, Australia where the local government has its own sisterhood museum where the tokens from their sister cities worldwide are stored and noted that the city’s token that it gave to the Shepparton officials that visited the city long time ago is reportedly displayed in the said area.
Currently, the space below the newly constructed stage in front of the main city hall building is being used for seminars, meetings, and conferences of the various offices of the city government while awaiting the establishment of the museum.
Domogan said it is high time for the local government to have a permanent site where it could deposit its numerous artefacts, the city’s rich history, the different mayors that were appointed or elected, the various memorabilia from its sister cities among others so that visiting delegations from the city’s sister cities and municipalities will have an added attraction to visit while spending their limited time in the city.
At the same time, he ordered concerned offices to fast track the utilization of the P2 million earlier appropriated by the local government for the facelift of its lobby to put more attractions that will be appreciated by residents and visitors instead of being too bare, except for the city’s logo that is enshrined on the flooring.
According to him, something must be done by the concerned offices to avoid the situation that the city’s artefacts and important documents are scattered in the different offices that could result in the eventual loss of such items that have important historical value to the city, thus, the utilization of the proposed area for its museum before it will be too late in the day.
Considering that the P11 million project for the facelift of the city hall frontage and landscaping has already been completed, he claimed it is appropriate to already start working on the putting up of the planned museum to its original site for residents and visitors to have an added place to visit once they have the luxury of time when transacting business with the different offices of the local government and for the benefit of the present and future generations of the people of the city.
By Dexter A. See
