AFTER facing criticisms on social media regarding photos of an excavated mountain in Barangay Cambuhawe, Balamban, slated to be the site of the new Cebu Provincial Capitol Building, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia clarified that the ongoing work involves the civil aspects of a nationally funded road construction and opening project.
Garcia said in an interview on Friday, March 22, 2024, that the project is part of site development being undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH 7), and the Cebu Provincial Government has yet to start the actual construction of its new building.
She said they are also still in the process of acquiring the surrounding lots, and the negotiations with the lot owners have not yet been finalized.
She, however, said the road project is a prerequisite for the actual construction of the new Capitol building.
“Wala pa tay gibayad bisag usa ka dako, but already nag-una na ang DPWH to provide access road nga adunay agian puhon. (We haven’t paid a single amount yet, but the DPWH has already started working on providing an access road),” Garcia said.
“Kon diha pa ta maghimo og dalan ighuman sa Capitol, unsaon pagtrabaho ana (Constructing the access road only after completing the new Capitol building, how we can do that)?,” she added.
SunStar Cebu on Thursday, March 21, shared on Facebook the aerial photos from the Facebook account of Wiley Yray, showing the site development with excavation atop and at the side of a mountain in Cambuhawe. Yray’s Facebook post indicates that the area is the site of the new Capitol building.
As of Friday, March 22, the post garnered over 6,000 sad, 3,100 angry, and 1,700 like reactions, while the post also gathered 2,600 comments and 4,300 shares.
Mixed reactions
Some netizens in the comment section raised concerns over the site location due to potential landslides, flooding and accessibility.
“Kasayang sa bukid. Naguba na gyud ang kinaiyahan. Kakuyaw na sa baha ani (Poor mountain. The environment is really destroyed. That place would be at risk of flooding),” a netizen said on Thursday.
However, some commenters defended the project to construct a new Capitol building.
“Tagaan chance kay siya man ang nagdumala sa province. Paras kalamboan ning iyang gibuhat. Malipay ang taga bukid ani daghan umaabot nga trabaho (Give her a chance because she’s the one leading the province. What she’s doing is for its progress. Many rural residents will be happy with the jobs that will come),” another netizen commented on Friday.
SunStar Cebu reached out to the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Central Visayas (DENR 7) to inquire whether the two separate DPWH and Capitol projects require environmental compliance certificates, but received no response.
Strategic
Garcia said transferring the Capitol building from Cebu City to Balamban is strategic.
She said Cebu City, where the Capitol building is currently located, is a congested area as it is a highly urbanized city.
Garcia said some provincial seats in the country are located outside their capital cities.
She added that the new location of the provincial seat is more accessible for most of the local government units in northern and southern Cebu under the Provincial Government’s jurisdiction.
The DPWH led the site development of the new 2.3-hectare government center, which has an elevation of 135 meters above sea level.
SunStar Cebu earlier reported in October 2023 that upon the completion of the site development, Phase 2 of the project or the actual construction of the new Capitol building will begin by early 2024.
The Capitol already acquired 17.5 hectares at the project site and will need 50 more hectares along the premises to accommodate provincial and regional offices of national line agencies.
SunStar Cebu attempted to interview Mayor Ace Stefan Binghay to inquire about the possible locations for the 50-hectare requirement but has yet to receive a reply as of writing. / EHP, WBS