Mayor Evelio Leonardia, whose term ends on Thursday, June 30, leaves behind infrastructure projects worth over P1 billion based on a consolidated report submitted by the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) covering January 2021 to March 2022.
The amount will hit P3 billion as the CEO has yet to include the P350 million appropriations for the already completed new activity center and buildings at the Bacolod City College, the P800 million state-of-the-art MassKara Coliseum, and museum that received P260 million from the national government through Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, a press release from the Bacolod City Government Center said Tuesday, June 28.
Leonardia said the infrastructure undertakings for 2021 and the early part of 2022 are consistent with President Rodrigo Duterte’s Build Build Build program to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and keep the local economy afloat.
“We did our best in response to the national government’s call to provide local employment. Through these public works initiatives, we are confident that we had served our city and the Bacolodnons well. I hope these projects will be taken cared of,” Leonardia said.
Many of the projects were road improvements, road widening, installation of street lights and drainage systems, bridge rehabilitation, reblocking, declogging and dredging of canals, building repairs at the old City Hall, barangay health facilities, school facilities, among others, City Engineer Aladino Agbones said in his consolidated report.
The CEO report covering January to December 2021 indicated that the city government completed 92 projects by administration totaling P111,219,303.66 on top of eight contracted projects worth P92,168,986.00 for a total of P203,388,289.66.
The completed contracted works included the improvement of the Bacolod City Public Plaza, construction, rehabilitation and improvement of the drainage system in Barangay 40 and Barangay 27, rehabilitation and improvement of the Bacolod City Rizal Park, improvement of public open spaces at the Bacolod City Government Center, improvement of the promenade fronting the Negros Occidental High School, and road construction at Purok Saturn and Sto. No Phase 4 Blocks 1-5, the press release said.
Some 38 projects were implemented by administration from January to February 2022 worth P28,333,930.50, the Agbones report said, adding that four others amounting to P69,610,000. were contracted during the same period.
The January to February 2022 projects totalled P301,332,220.16, he added.
The March 2022 report of Agbones showed that 12 projects worth P23,365,000 have already been completed for the period.
Ongoing as of March 2022 are 26 projects being implemented by administration, P34,670,580.25, on top of the 22 others by contract worth P643,365,442, Agbones added.
The total city government infra works from January 2021 to March 2022 summed up to P1,002,733,242.91, the CEO said.
If the MassKara Coliseum (P800 million), Museum (P260 million) and BCC (P350 million) are included, this sums up P2.4 billion worth of infra projects that the Leonardia administration will leave as a legacy to city folk, the press release said.
Other big ticket projects are also in the works like the new City Health Office that is being proposed to be built next to the Bacolod City General Hospital inside the Teofilo Gensoli Memorial Medical Center in Barangay Vista Alegre, it added.*