When Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia returns to private life as “Citizen Bing” tomorrow, he leaves behind infrastructure projects worth over P1 billion based on a consolidated report submitted by the City Engineer’s Office covering January to December 2021 and from January to March 2022.
The total allocation would sum up to over P3 billion as the CEO has yet to include in the project listing the P350 million appropriations for the already completed new Activity Center and buildings at Bacolod City College, the P800 million state-of-the-art MassKara Coliseum and Museum adjacent it which received P260 million funding support from the national government through the efforts of Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Leonardia, who made history as longest-serving mayor of Bacolod for 18 years, said the infrastructure undertakings for 2021 and early part of 2022 are consistent with the national government’s thrust for increased public spending and in synch with the President Duterte’s Build Build Build program to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and keep the local economy afloat.
“We did our best in response to the national government’s call to provide local employment. Through these public works initiatives, we are confident that we had served our city and the Bacolodnons well. I hope these projects will be taken care of,” Leonardia said.
Many of these projects were road improvements, road widening, installation of street lights and drainage system, bridge rehabilitation, reblocking, declogging and dredging of canals, building repairs at the old City Hall, barangay health facilities, school facilities, among others, City Engineer Aladino Agbones said in his consolidated report.
The CEO report covering January to December 2021 indicated that the city government completed 92 projects by administration totaling P111,219,303.66 on top of eight contracted projects worth P92,168,986.00 or a total of P203,388,289.66.
The completed contracted works included the improvement of the Bacolod City Public Plaza, construction, rehabilitation and improvement of the drainage system in Barangay 40 and Barangay 27, rehabilitation and improvement of the Bacolod City Rizal Park, improvement of public open spaces at the Bacolod City Government Center, improvement of the promenade fronting the Negros Occidental High School, and road construction at Purok Saturn and Sto. Nino Phase 4 Blocks 1-5.
Some 38 projects were implemented by the administration from January to February 2022 worth P28,333,930.50, the Agbones report said, adding that four others amounting to P69,610,000.00 were contracted during the same period.
Combined total of the January to February 2022 projects summed up to P301,332,220.16, he added.
The March 2022 report which Agbones submitted to Leonardia showed that 12 projects worth P23,365,000.00 have already been completed for the period.
Ongoing as of March 2022, Agbones continued, are 26 projects being implemented by administration, P34,670,580.25, on top of the 22 others by contract worth P643,365,442.00.
Consolidated total for city government infra works for the entire 2021 and January to March 2022 summed up to P1,002,733,242.91, the CEO said.
If the MassKara Coliseum (P800 million), Museum (P260 million) and BCC (P350 million) are included, this sums up P2.4 billion worth of infra projects that the Leonardia administration will leave as a legacy to city folk.
Other big-ticket projects are also in the works like the new City Health Office that is being proposed to be built next to the Bacolod City General Hospital inside the Teofilo Gensoli Memorial Medical Center in Barangay Vista Alegre.
The city hospital is mainly funded by the national government.*