Public hearing on Convention Center rehab set Nov. 14

By Dexter A. See 

BAGUIO CITY – The city council will conduct a public hearing on the on-going rehabilitation of the city-owned Baguio Convention Center here on Nov.14 to get sentiments of stakeholders on the unilateral revision of the project plans resulting to the deletion of the proposed mezzanine, escalator and elevator provisions of the facility.

           Councilor Maria Mylen Victoria G. Yaranon, chair of the city council committee on public works, said that the scheduled public hearing aims to get public opinion on the revised plans of the project to send a clear message to as input into the decision of the officials of the Cordillera office of the Department of Public works and Highways revising the original plans they were mandated implement.

            Expected to serve as resource persons during the public hearing are DPWH-CAR officials who have to justify their revision while the local government’s technical working group will explain merits of the original plan.

            Earlier, the DPWH-CAR bid out the multi-million rehabilitation of the city’s premier convention facility using the original plans and programs of work, a product of the local government’s TWG that included a mezzanine, escalator and elevator to enhance the capacity and accessibility and features of the facility.

However, during the implementation stage, the contractor could not locate the appropriate foundation for the proposed mezzanine, escalator and elevator because the local government did not provide the agency with the original plans of the structure for the technical personnel to locate where to place the foundation of the added amenities of the convention center.