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Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Architect hikes bet to P1.5M for center's completion
CEBU CITY -- Because of the never-ending doubt on the completion of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) by November 15, architect Manuel Guanzon Tuesday raised his bet to P1.5 million that it will be finished.
He earlier said he will bet P500,000 but there were no takers.
Completing the structure at the Mandaue Reclamation Area is not a matter of being optimistic or pessimistic, "We just have to do it," Guanzon said.
Whatever number of days left for the builders will be times three since they are working on three shifts or 24 hours, he pointed out.
But former senator John "Sonny" Osmeña is not buying that.
Osmeña said in a radio dyLA interview Tuesday that from what he is seeing, the CICC cannot be finished on the target date. What will be finished maybe the building's framework but not the electrical works and others, he said.
And even if it will be completed, a source from Malacañang told him that it is Shangri-la's Mactan Island Resort and Spa that will be used for the Asean summit and not the CICC.
Ten heads of state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and their dialogue partners from Asia and Europe will gather in Cebu in December.
This is the first time Cebu is hosting the event.
Work on the CICC's substructure started in March. The facility is expected to cost the Provincial Government about P450 million.
Capitol has insisted that the CICC will be finished on November 15.
But Osmeña is not taking Guanzon's bet, calling it "surambao." He also called the governor's act of rushing the work as an "Imeldific behavior."
A member of the United Architects of the Philippines who requested anonymity said that the workers are certain to finish the CICC shell on time, with its rooms and partitions.
The doubts, he said, rest on whether the CICC will be fully operational.
The architect explained that in construction, it is always the "finishes" such as carpeting, wall finish and fixtures that take more time.
"Pero mayo unta ug mahuman gyud (But it would be good if it be finished)," he said.
For her part, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia refused to say more about the negative issues hounding the construction.
"Even as we weather all difficulties and brickbats from probably well-meaning people, we must stay focused and believe that we will deliver as promised," she told reporters in yesterday's media tour of the construction site.
As to questions on safety of the workers, Garcia said, "I believe (the labor department) will do its job."
She also called on all contractors to "observe labor rules and give every CICC worker his due," after allegations that workers are not being paid minimum wage.
An aide of a welder at the construction site was electrocuted last October 11.
Concerns were also raised on the structural integrity of the CICC, considering that the work is being rushed, but Guanzon said it is not the construction process that was cut to speed up the work.
The kind of materials used, such as structural steel instead of reinforced concrete, is what's saving them time, he said.
The Asean summit will bring the first income that the Capitol will get from the CICC, as the Provincial Government will be charging the National Government for the facility's use "for the whole affair."
That is anchored on the builders' belief that the CICC, reportedly 96 percent complete Tuesday, can be finished on time amid continuing doubts and speculations from some people.
Even the international media that will be using the center will also have to pay Malacañang, which is now taking care of the needs of the "media center" part of the structure.
They have yet to peg the amount, but Garcia said Philippine Ambassador to the Asean Marciano Paynor will make sure they will get the rates of the Philippine International Convention Center. (Sun.Star Cebu)
(October 18, 2006 issue)
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