THREE lot areas have been proposed by the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) as possible sites for the new government center of Cebu City at the South Road Properties (SRP), where City Hall will be relocated, Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia told SunStar Cebu on Monday, May 29, 2023.
But regardless of which of these lots will be chosen, the move will mean longer travel for thousands of people from the city’s north district to transact with City Hall.
Local businessmen, however, said the move will spur economic development in both the old and new locations of City Hall.
The CPDO proposed to the City Council a two-hectare lot right after the sign of the SRP, behind the lot tower; a six-hectare lot across Il Corso mall, along the areas of UP Professional Schools; and another six-hectare lot facing Pond A.
Last December, Garcia said the Cebu City Government wants to spend P800 million for the construction of a new City Hall at the SRP, with P400 million each proposed as the budget for the new executive building and the new legislative building, while CPDO head Joseph Michael “Yumi” Espina said that aside from housing the City’s departments and divisions, the proposed City Hall would also serve as a complex for national government agencies.
Garcia said Monday that while all the other services of City Hall will be transferred, the tourism office and the Cebu City Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (Chac) office will remain in their present locations.
The office of Chac is at the Rizal Memorial Library and Museum Building on Osmeña Boulevard in Barangay Capitol Site, while the Cebu City Tourism Office is near the Department of Education-Cebu City Division Office on Imus Avenue in Barangay Zapatera.
The current City Hall building is located in Barangay Sto. Niño.
As for the City’s financial center building, which opened in 2020 beside the Senior Citizens Park in Barangay Sto. Niño, Garcia said it would be Mayor Michael Rama’s call whether to transfer it.
“But I think it should be transferred because financial requires a lot of people to go in and out, because they will pay taxes at the treasurer’s office. So if you ask me, especially the financial center has to be transferred to SRP,” Garcia said.
Cebu City Administrator Collin Rosell told SunStar Cebu Monday that more than 1,000 people visit Cebu City Hall daily to pay taxes, make transactions and visit the offices of the City officials.
Rosell said majority of City Hall’s daily visitors go to the financial center building for transactions at the City Treasurer’s Office, Office of Senior Citizen Affairs, and Barangay Affairs Office.
Timeline
There is no specific timeline for the construction yet, but Garcia said with the plans now presented to the council, they will have to see when the mayor and concerned agencies approve of the plans.
“With the go signal of the mayor on where we will really put it, then we can start already with the plans, the architectural plans and designs. So if we can already make the plans, with the estimates, then we can start the process of bidding out the first phase, which I think will really be the legislative building,” Garcia said.
If the construction of the legislative building starts next year, Garcia guesses it could be finished within the next three to five years.
The current Legislative Building of City Hall would become the new Cebu City Museum and city archives, Garcia added.
However, Cebu City Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos, does not see the transfer as a priority.
“It’s a good plan, but my concern is this -- is it a priority now? With all the other issues besetting the city like health, housing, drainage etc. ... do we have a budget for this?” de los Santos said.
For City Councilor Rey Gealon, however, a centralized area for government services could be beneficial to the people.
“I believe that with City Hall there, as well as the presence of most of the national agencies, our fellow Cebuanos will find this “one-stop-service-shop” approach effective and efficient. It bears stressing though that accessibility to and from there is key. So there has to be public transport eventually plying that route,” Gealon said.
Garcia assured that mass transportation schemes going to and from the new place will be among the priorities in the planning and development.
“The City Planning Office and also the SRPMO (SRP Management Office) already have plans for the transportation along the SRP area. We will connect the heritage district, which is here in the City Hall area downtown, to the business district. Obviously, we will have mass transportation for that,” Garcia said.
Economic development
Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Charles Kenneth Co said relocating Cebu City Hall to the SRP will spur more economic development in the area. He said it was already a trend in other municipalities, cities and even provinces to transfer the center of government to a much bigger area.
This was made to accommodate the increase in manpower and economic activity when the existing or old site has already reached its limits, Co said.
He admitted that it may cause inconvenience in terms of transportation, since there will be a change in location.
However, Co said, “More bridges are being planned, so there will be more options to access SRP from (Barangay) Inayawan.”
Public utility vehicles like jeepneys currently have no direct route to SRP. The public would need to avail of pricier cab service or a private vehicle to reach the area.
However, with the advent of technology, Cebu City Government has already introduced online portals where citizens and business owners can avail themselves of the different services of the local government.
Transforming the existing City Hall into a heritage site, which coincides with the City Government’s plan to develop a heritage district, will boost local tourism, Co added.
Replacing customers
Retailer Robert Go called the planned transfer of Cebu City Hall to the SRP a “good upgrade since the City needs a bigger building and ancillary service facilities.”
He’s also not worried about its impact on retail businesses in Barangay Sto. Niño, except for the food establishments that City Hall employees frequent for lunch, saying that City Hall employees account for just a small part of the customer population in the area.
Go, who is Philippine Retailers Association (PRA)-Cebu spokesperson, said that eventually, the customers will be replaced by tourists who have high spending power.
“This direction of Cebu City Michael Rama is similar to that of other modern cities transforming old government buildings into museums and heritage areas, upgrading city functions to bigger, better and modern buildings,” said Go.
PRA-Cebu president Christian Paroan echoed Go’s sentiments, saying: “While the relocation of Cebu City Hall from Plaza Sugbu to SRP may initially seem like a disadvantage for existing local businesses due to the departure of their regular customer base (City Hall employees), there are several potential positive trade-offs. The most obvious would be a new customer base. This could be from new businesses that move in, new residents, or visitors to the area.”
“They can also adapt their business model to cater to the new demographics in the area. Usually when huge servicing establishments like the Cebu City Hall, for example, are moved to a different location... the move might pave the way for urban redevelopment projects that could ultimately increase the value of the area, attract new clientele, and improve business for existing retailers in the area,” Paroan said.
He added that City Hall’s move might also reduce traffic in that area, making it more attractive to customers who previously avoided the area due to traffic issues, thereby attracting new customers from nearby areas or offices who might not have previously visited due to the heavy influx of employees and visitors at City Hall.
Earlier this month, Garcia authored an ordinance designating the downtown area as a heritage district to preserve its historical landmarks.
The heritage district will cover the intersection of V. Rama Avenue and N. Bacalso Avenue, proceeding to P. Del Rosario St., then Imus Avenue, and to the intersection of General Maxilom Avenue and Tejero Creek until the Cebu Port Authority in Pier 6, continuing toward the shorelines of Barangay Sto. Niño and Quezon Boulevard.
It will also cover Abellana Street and the intersections of Gen. Gines Street, R. Magsaysay Street and JM Basa Street, before returning to the starting point of the V. Rama-N. Bacalso intersection. (with JJL, EHP)