The City Government of Valenzuela, headed by Mayor WES Gatchalian, breaks the ground for the new and modernized Finance Center Building and Legislative and People’s Center Building as the answer to the prevailing issues at the city hall, October 17.
Mayor Gatchalian enumerated the issues that he observed when he made rounds during the first week of assumption in office. He took note of the limited parking slots, lack of storage area, and the absence of a decent cafeteria that can accommodate about 13,000 city hall employees.
As answers to these problems, Mayor WES sat down with the design team to plan the new buildings to make room for what are presently lacking in the existing facilities.
The new buildings are designed to have basement parking areas with a total of 157 car slots and 113 motorcycle slots. The 6th floor of the Finance Center will be allotted as “Central Storage Area” that will keep the City’s original and important documents. Lastly, the City Hall employees will soon enjoy the London-inspired 100-seater food hall at the Legislative Building.
The New Finance Center Building is a six-storey building with a basement parking. This state-of-the-art building will house the income-generating offices of the City, such as the Treasurer’s Office, Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO), City Assessor’s Office, Geographical Information System – Data Management Office (GIS-DMO), Office of the Building Official (OBO), City Business Inspection and Audit Team (CBAT), Local Civil Registry, Zoning Office, and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), and the City Information and Communication Technology Office (ICTO).
Meanwhile, the Legislative and People’s Center Building is designed as a four-storey building with two basement parking. This new and more modern Legislative building awaits the offices of the Sangguniang Panglungsod ng Valenzuela, the Plenary Hall, the 100-seater food hall for employees, and the bigger and better City Child Protection Center.
Mayor WES said that these two new infrastructures will be marked as history in the City of Valenzuela, “Isang karangalan sa akin na sa first 100 days ko in office na personally ipresent sa inyo ang dalawang imprastraktura na magiging landmark in the history ng ating mahal na lungsod.” (It is an honor for me that in my first 100 days in office to personally present to you two infrastructures that will become landmarks in the history of our beloved city.)
The City Mayor acknowledged Senator WIN Gatchalian for helping the local government acquire funding to make way for a new, bigger, better, and state-of-the-art buildings that will cater to the needs of every Valenzuelanos and serve the city taxpayers better. He dubbed these flagship projects as “Proyektong Kakaiba”.
Senator WIN Gatchalian lobbied for a total budget of PhP 295,120,778 for the Finance Center and PhP 334,860,629 for the Legislative and People’s Center. Completion of the two buildings is slated in the first quarter of 2025.
Joining Mayor WES were the City Council, headed by City Vice Mayor Lorie Natividad Borja, 1st District Councilors Marlon Alejandrino, Ricarr Enriquez, Ghogo Deato Lee, Ramon Encarnacion, 2nd District Councilors Gerald Galang, Niña Lopez, Sel Sabino-Sy, Louie Nolasco, Mickey Pineda, and Chiqui Carreon, and Liga ng mga Barangay President Jonjon Bartolome.
Also present at the event were Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Metro Manila 3rd District Engineering Office District Engineer, Engr. Ruel Umali, and Assistant District Engineer, Engineer Andres Macaalay, Jr, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) – Valenzuela Director Mary Jane Nacario, Valenzuela City Police Station OIC PCOL Salvador Salazar Destura Jr., Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela President Dr. Nedeña Torralba, Punong Barangays, and the City Department Heads.
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