Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez has moved into the newly renovated mayor’s office at the Bacolod City Government Center.
He is personally paying for the P16 million cost for its renovation, which included demolition of some of the old structures and the repair of the leaking roof, Benitez said during his weekly press conference on Monday, June 3.
The new office has a modern luxury design, which includes new furniture, outer and inner waiting rooms, two conference rooms and a glass wall that gives one a full view of the BCGC grounds and fountain.
“We would like to present the mayor’s office as a symbol of Bacolod City, which has to have a certain level of wow factor,” Benitez said.
It is also designed to be a comfortable and relaxed workplace, he said.
It will set the tone for future renovations of city government offices, Benitez said.
He said the renovation was initially bided out by the city government so he is looking to see if that can be reversed so he can directly pay the contractor for the renovation cost from his own funds.
If that is not possible he will offset the amount spent by the city for the mayor’s office by allocating P16 million from his personal funds for the repair of city comfort rooms, he said.*