School builds P25-M multipurpose building with dorm

THE government-run Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) will soon have a new and modern dormitory to cater to students who could not afford to stay in private dormitories in Zamboanga City.

Mayor Celso Lobregat and WMSU President Dr. Milabel Enriquez-Ho led the groundbreaking ceremonies Monday for the construction of a P25-million multipurpose edifice with dormitory at the university’s Campus B.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended and witnessed by other City Government officials and the entire University family that included the vice presidents, deans, directors, faculty and students.

The project, costing the City Government P24,584,019.82, will be undertaken by WERR Corporation International and is expected to be completed within 300 days.

Ho thanked Lobregat and the City Council for giving WMSU a multipurpose building project with dormitory, saying it will go a long way in helping the students, especially those who could hardly afford to stay in private dormitories.

“Words are not enough to express our profound thanks and gratitude to the City Government headed by Mayor Lobregat for giving us this project,” Ho said, even as she recalled that it was in the afternoon of June 30, 2012 when she received a call from the mayor for an ocular inspection of the project site.

Aside from the dormitory project, Ho said the City Government also donated to WMSU about P800,000 worth of filling materials to elevate the university’s open field plaza, which usually goes under water during heaving downpour.

Lobregat said the process of having the WMSU dormitory project approved took a little time as it had to be included, as a matter of government procedure, first in the Local Development Investment Plan (LDIP), then in the Annual Investment Plan (AIP), and most importantly in the city’s executive budget for 2013.

“We are very fortunate to have very a supportive City Council where we have a clear majority (of the members) supporting the plans and programs of our administration,” Lobregat said.

He said the City Government’s 2013 budget containing the WMSU dormitory project was approved by the City Council through Resolution 802.

Lobregat said one sector that his administration has given high priority is education with a total infrastructure investment of P1.3 billion over the last six years.

The assistance was extended not only to public elementary and secondary schools in Zamboanga City but also to the state colleges and universities -- the Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology (ZSCMST), Zamboanga City State Polytechnic College (ZCSPC) and WMSU.

The ZSCMST received from the City Government a 17-door apartelle amounting to P9.3 million that was inaugurated on June 27, 2012, while the ZCSPC is a recipient of a P24-million multipurpose gymnasium, P4.2-million garments building and a two-storey six-classroom building for the College of Engineering, all are ongoing construction and almost completed. (Bong Garcia)