LINGAYEN -- November 11 is a monumental day in Mapandan town with joint celebration of the 40th birthday of the mayor and the inauguration of the new municipal hall.

“It’s a dream come true for us. The two structures knocked down and replaced with this new building were built in 1963 and in the 1970s,” said Mayor Jose Ferdinand Calimlim Jr.

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“The structural design of the new building is that from the outside, it looks like a typical town hall. But its inside has the ambiance of a hotel, giving the employees more pride to work and serve the townspeople. We try to make everything as accessible as possible to the people. We have the facilities for a one-stop-shop. The local and national offices are under one roof,” he added.

Construction started in 2008 after the ground breaking August 8 that year.

Calimlim said the P23 million fund used is basically local fund.

“It came from our savings, monetization, and increases in Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA). There were also contributions from Governor Amado Espino Jr., third district Congressman Rachel Arenas, Ambassador and Mrs. Eduardo Cojuangco, Vice Governor Marlyn Agabas and the board members from the fifth district,” he said.

The next goal is to build in the coming years an extension building for the Municipal Trial Court and the Municipal Fire Station.

Mapandan town is now a third class municipality.

The new Municipal Hall basically completes the physical transformation of the town.

This once sleepy town was able to make a name after Calimlim introduced and launched the town’s Pandan Festival in 2003.

It further boosted its popularity after its Tribu Pandan cultural/street dancing group won distinguished competitions one after the other which, among others, the Bangus Festival’s Festivals of the North Street Dancing Competition and Baguio City’s Panagbenga Street Dancing Competition. (LCMY/Sunnex)