[ Manila Bulletin Online ] June 20, 2008
By JUN GUIANG
LAOAG CITY — The city government will relocate the old Laoag Central Elementary School and three other government buildings to give way for the construction of a shopping mall here, city officials said.
Laoag Mayor Michael V. Fariñas said he has been closely coordinating with the Diocese of Laoag headed by Bishop Sergio Utleg in the formulation of the terms and conditions of the proposed mall project.
Records show that the 1.3-hectare lot where the school building stands was donated to then municipality of Laoag many years ago by the Catholic church primarily for educational purposes.
The eastern portion of the lot is occupied by a building housing the city school division office of the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Fire Protection, and Girl Scout headquarters.
Fariñas said all the buildings in the lot would be demolished and transferred somwhere else at the expense of the prospective mall owner.
Under the memorandum of agreement being finalized by the city government and the Diocese, the investor, who would win in the public bidding for the mall project, is required to post a R50million fund for the relocation and construction of a new modern school building, Fariñas said.
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