MAYOR Pryde Henry Teves of Bayawan City, Negros Oriental, said Tuesday, January 10, that transactions with the different departments and sections of the local government are now being done at the new government center.
The mayor confirmed on Tuesday that except for the City Health Office, the City Council, police station, and all other offices have transferred to the new government center in Barangay Banga.
The transfer to the new government center aims to make transactions with the local government unit easier for the people, Teves said.
The mayor said the new government center in Sitio Cabcabon in Barangay Banga was built in a span of 15 years with funding worth some P300 million.
Following his election as mayor of Bayawan City last May, Teves said he saw the need to fully utilize the new government center while the old city hall, situated in the “poblacion” or city proper, will be retro-fitted, to include about six buildings, and to be leased out to a shopping mall.
Bidding for the 1.1-hectare old City Government center will be held next month, Teves said.
Meanwhile, the City Health Office, the police station, the fire station, the Rescue and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Civil Security Office and the City Agriculture Office will be transferred later to a different location once funds are available to purchase a lot, he added.
Mayor Teves is optimistic of an economic boom in Bayawan City as more banks have set up branches there, as well as other business establishments, such as a convenience store and a shopping center.
The new government center was built during the time of then mayor and now Councilor Ernesto Tijing, the late Mayor German Saraña Jr., and the former mayor and now Vice Mayor Ismael Martinez. (PNA)