New P1.3-B Capiz capitol to rise soon

By Felipe V Celino

ROXAS CITY,  Capiz – The province of Capiz will soon have a new and very comfortable provincial capitol.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan(SP) on Monday, July 17, approved the P300 million supplemental budget intended for the purchase of a lot at Pueblo de Panay in Barangay Lawaan here which will be the location of the new capitol.

According to Board Member Jonathan Besa, chairman of Committee on Appropriations, the supplemental budget was taken from the savings in the general fund of the provincial government last year amounting to P152 million while P148M was taken from the 20% development fund.

Besa said the new capitol project aims to give comfortable and accessible services to the people of Capiz. It will also ease the center of the city of traffic and decongest the old capitol building of clients.

Antonio Arbis, provincial budget officer, said the total budget for the new 4-storey capitol building would be P1.3 billion wherein the P800-M will be taken from the coffers of the provincial government. It will be constructed on a 3-hectare lot.

Arbis said that Governor Fredenil Castro will look for the remaining P500-M from the different national government agencies.

He clarified that the provincial government will not borrow money from banks.

“The governor doesn’t want to get a loan just to build this ambitious edifice,” he stressed.

The old capitol building was constructed about 100 years ago and underwent several rehabilitation since then.

Other departments have been squatting in other buildings as these could not anymore be accommodated at the old provincial capitol building.