Story and photos by John Bello | Correspondent
LUCENA CITY, Quezon—The city residents here and even transient visitors transacting business with the city government have to get used from now on to head outside the city proper, as the city has moved to a new home.
From a few hundred square meters of decades-old City Hall building on Tagarao Street in Barangay 5, the city government takes a new residence at a sprawling 3,000-tsquare- meters, four-story brand-new city government complex in a 2-hectare lot in Barangay Mayao Kanluran, more than 6 kilometers away from the city poblacion.
The brand-new City Hall had its inauguration on March 17 and opened its sensor-fitted main glass-door entrance three days later on March 20, when Mayor Roderick Alcala and Vice Mayor Philip Castillo, along with members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), led the holding of the first flag ceremony, hosted by the city police, led by Supt. Arturo Brual.
The city mayor billed the P320-million government complex as a one-stop shop, where the city residents can now access the services and transact business with all the various government offices of the city government in just one public-service center, with all the comfort and convenience of a modern shopping mall, with various department stores catering to the needs of various customers.
“Pinag-isa na rito sa ating bagong Lucena city government complex ang lahat ng mga tanggapan, kaya’t ito’y magpapagaan sa mga pangangailangan ng ating mga mamamayan sa iba’t-ibang serbisyo at transaksiyon na ipinagkakaloob ng iba’t ibang tanggapan ng ating pamahalaang panlungsod,” Alcala said in his speech during the inauguration attended by his two uncles, Quezon Second District Rep. Vicente Alcala and former Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, both of whom the mayor thanked for their support and assistance in the realization of big infrastructure projects the mayor believes make a big difference for the lives of the residents in the 33 barangays of the city.
Alcala used to joke that the old City Hall is so big that the public has to board a tricycle or jeepney or walk some distance to go from one office to the next to transact their business with the city government. For example, the City Health Office is in Barangay Zaballero, almost a kilometer away from the old City Hall; City Accounting Office is located almost 50 meters away outside the old City Hall building, while the SP holds its regular sessions at the City Hall annex in Barangay Isabang, almost two kilometers. away.
Now the old City Hall building is left to house just the Traffic Management Office, the city police station, the city library and the post office and the rest have gone to find their rightful places at the new city government complex in Barangay Mayao Kanluran, which is expected to be the new center of action for the city’s march to progress.
Arnel Avila, executive assistant to the city mayor, said the City Public Information Office will be staying put until June at its old location in the old City Hall until its new TV studio and other facilities will be fully installed at the new city government complex. The City Hall annex building vacated by the SP offices will be occupied by the expanded Lucena City College.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who graced the inauguration as its guest of honor and speaker, said the construction of the city-government complex means that “nothing is impossible if hearts, minds and spirits of the people and their officials are ‘marshalled toward one goal’ and challenged the city officials and employees that ‘now that the city has a new house, they have to transform it into a home’ for the benefit of all its residents.”
On Monday SP member Nicanor Pedro, who chaired the 3 SP committees of labor, oversight and people’s participation and accreditation of non-governmental organizations, stood in his first privilege speech at the new SP session hall on the third floor of the city government complex, and stressed “the bottom line for all the developments in the city is still the welfare and upliftment of the people,” as he urged his colleagues, and the staff and employees manning the various frontline offices of the city government to make the delivery of services more “humane”
“Kung nagpalit man tayo ng kubo at ginawa nating bungalow, panatilihin nating tao ang nakatira rito. Gawin din nating higit pang makatao kaysa dati ang paglilingkod-bayan,” said Pedro, a veteran radio broadcaster before he became a city councilor, as he pleaded for the public to understand and to make the necessary adjustment due to the changes brought about by the developments in the city.
The over two-year-long construction of the new city government complex, which had its groundbreaking in January 2015, is expected to ease the mounting vehicular and pedestrian traffic congestion of this highly urbanized city.
Up to about 300 to 400 cars are said to park most of the time near and around the old main City Hall. This contributed to the huge vehicular-traffic congestion in the city proper.
“Noong ginanap ang aming Executive-Legislative Agenda para sa taong 2013-2016 ay kasama na itong pagtatayo ng new city government complex at ang pagkakaapruba ng ating CLUP [Comprehensive Land Use Plan]. Kasama na ang pagbubukas ng mga bagong developmental routes na inapruban naman ng Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board,” City Planning and Development Officer Nelson Singson told the BusinessMirror inside his new office, also on the third floor of the new City Hall building.
Singson said the city’s CLUP was approved in October 2016 by Housing Land Use Regulatory Board, then headed by Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo.
With the establishment of the new city government complex, Singson said it has necessitated new jeepney routes from the location of the new City Hall building to various points of the city, such as to Bayan (city proper) via Gulang-Gulang (12.63 km route length); to Bayan via Site (12.72 km); to Cotta via Bayan (15.32 km); to Talao-Talao via Mayao (16.21 km); to Salinas via Talim (24.79 km); to Dalahican via Solcomville (16.29 km); to Bocohan-Domoit via Diversion Road (12.25 km); and to Iyam-Isabang via Maharlika Highway (18.40 km).
He said 25 jeepneys have been designated to ply the route from Bayan to the new city government complex via Grand Central Terminal to take care of the riding public who have to transact business with the city government.
Singson said what Lucena City lacks is a sufficient number of hotels and a spacious convention center befitting a highly urbanized city. He said in anticipation of the coming of more business investors and to accommodate visitors and tourists, the city government plans to construct a Lucena Arena Convention within the new citygovernment complex sitting inside the 2-hectare lot donated by businessman Manuel Tantoco.
Annie Asnan, officer in charge of the Archive Records Division of the SP, is pleased with their spanking new office, along with other allied SP offices.
They were formerly holed up at the City Hall annex building in Barangay Isabang, where they got transferred in 1995 after the old City Hall burned down in 1985.
With just three employees composed of a bookbinder, an administrative aide and herself, Asnan said they can now make a proper and decent filing system for the approved SP resolutions and ordinances, minutes of SP sessions, verbatim journals and reference books in their new office.
“Ang bagong Lucena City Hall ay patunay lamang na ang administrasyon ng pamahalaang panlungsod ay nangangarap ng isang matiwasay at maayos na pamamahala,” former Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said simply in his speech at the inauguration of the new city government complex. He lauded the city officials, who have joined hands to establish to rise up to the challenge of the city’s future.
Image credits: John Bello