P1M set for City Hall repainting

THE City Government of Davao has set aside P1 million for the City Hall's entire outer building repainting which started a couple of weeks ago.

"One of our commitments as a historical landmark is the upkeep of the landmark," Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said in a text message to Sun.Star Davao.

The National Historical Commission affirmed that the City Hall of Davao as a historical site last November 27, 2012.

The local government building was built as a municipal hall by the American government in 1926, eleven years before the place was declared as a chartered city by the President Elpidio Quirino in 1937.

Same with the City Hall building facade, Duterte-Carpio said the repainting of the City Hall outer building is a product of the interim of the Office of the City Architect (OCA) to make local government unit (LGU) buildings of similar façade.

The interim OCA was formalized through Executive Order (EO) No. 23, an order "creating an Ad Interim Office of the City Architect, defining its powers and functions" issued by the City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on June 26, 2012. It is assigned in the planning of the infrastructure projects of the government, considering the aesthetic aspects of the buildings.

Duterte-Carpio said the entire outer building repainting, which has a total budget of P1,070,000 sourced out from Supplemental Budget No. 1 (SB1) in 2012, is the first since July 2010.

Erwin Alparaque, assistant city administrator, said the local government hopes to complete the refurbish before the 76th Araw ng Dabaw Celebration, which will be on March 16.

"Probably mga March 10 tapos na yan," Alparaque said in a phone interview. (Arianne Caryl N. Casas)