A 20-STOREY building that will house some of the Cebu Provincial Government’s frontline services will be built within the Capitol compound.
Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III signed an agreement yesterday with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) that will allow the Province to borrow P1.5 billion for the construction of the new building.
The building will stand on the site of the old Bureau of Agricultural Extension (BAEx) building, which was vacated in 2013 after a powerful earthquake that struck Cebu and Bohol on Oct. 15 that year damaged the structure.
Aside from Governor Davide, lawyer Marissa Anino, head of DBP’s Cebu Lending Center, signed the agreement.
Those who witnessed the signing yesterday were Provincial Board Member Miguel Magpale, Provincial Accountant Ramon Dumayac, Provincial Budget Officer Danilo Rodas, and Assistant Provincial Treasurer Emmanuel Guial.
In an interview, Governor Davide said that the Province will be paying for the loan for 10 years with a fixed interest rate of 2.9 percent per annum.
The signed loan agreement will be forwarded to the Provincial Board for ratification. Davide will also ask the PB to approve a supplemental budget to pay for the first tranche of the loan.
Once both are complied with, he said, the Province will call for a bidding to identify the contractor who will construct the building.
The 20-storey building will house commercial spaces as well. Some of the floors will be reserved for parking and commercial spaces, which will serve as a second source of funds to pay for the loan.
But Davide said the main purpose for the building is to house the Provincial Government’s departments, especially those that provide frontline services.
The loan is the second initiated within the Davide administration.
Two years ago, the Capitol entered into a loan agreement with the Land Bank of the Philippines for P252 million to help acquire light and heavy equipment.