Thursday, January 21, 2010 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
By Rimaliza Opiña
A MEMBER of the City Council remains her stand against the costly fencing project of the Burnham Park Management Authority (BPMA), saying the fence should end at least at the Harrison Road side of the park.
Councilor Perlita Chan-Rondez maintained her earlier position on the fencing project led by businessman Vic Agcaoili and Bishop Carlito Cenzon.
She said it is overpriced and does not conform to the design and costing envisioned by the City Engineers Office (CEO).
Reacting over earlier statements made by the fencing group, Rondez has prepared a position paper answering every claim made by the group.
Rondez said the deal with the private group is for them to fence only portions of the park, which previously have been neglected. These fences are located at Kisad Road.
She cited Resolution 10-2009 of the BPMA, which stated the limited fencing at the Kisad side only. The councilor stressed, fencing at the Harrison Road side was never authorized by the BPMA.
Rondez said the limit to the fencing activity is anchored on an earlier contention of the CEO to determine first the metes and bounds of the park. Since the committee then was rushing the work in time for the centennial celebration last September 1.
The construction group was permitted to undertake the fencing in select areas of the park.
Rondez said the CEO's estimate for the fencing of two posts using "crazy cut" stones, gold plates and embossed names costs P50,000 not P60,000 as collected by the committee.
"They used plastic and luna stones, (had they followed the CEO design) the cost should be lower," she said.
Rondez said the committee has been charging P60,000 for a project with materials that costs less than the CEO estimate.
By doubling the amount of donation at Harrison, which is P120,000 for every span, Rondez said the committee resorted to commercializing the area.
"The original intention of the fencing is for donation from concerned residents, and not for advertisement," Rondez stressed.
The fencing committee earlier reasoned that the P60,000 covers for the park's maintenance.
But Rondez countered, the committee's authority is to fence only, not to maintain it. She stressed, maintenance is a function of the City Government, not of a private organization.
After the committee has accomplished its project, it has to turnover the project through a deed of donation. Rondez said acceptance of the donation has to pass Council approval.
Rondez also confirmed that she pledged to donate to the committee. She did not pursue this after learning the project is "overpriced".
"The issue of where the donations went must be explained. If there is an excess, it should be donated (to the city)," the councilor said even as she maintained, enclosing the park gives an impression that it is off limits to the public.
"Fencing is not the only solution," she said, citing the 2010 budget, which added security forces in the area.
Included in the budget is the hiring of the park manager, which would oversee and administer the entire operation of all city parks.
Rondez added, the project is not only overpriced, the committee disregarded a call by City Environment and Parks Management Office (Cepmo) officer-in-charge Colleene Lacsamana, who earlier asked for discontinuance of the Harrison project pending the finalization of the master development plan by the University of the Cordilleras.
But even with calls for the project's suspension, the committee found an ally in Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr. and Vice Mayor Daniel Fariñas.
The mayor issued an administrative order, which allowed the project to continue beyond 2009.
The same committee was tasked to undertake the project.
Fariñas, on the other hand, filed a proposed resolution supporting the same.
"The development of the area is a welcome gesture and the outpouring of donations from the private sector is a commendable deed worthy of admiration," he said in his proposal.
The fencing project has so far generated P4.7 million worth of donations.
Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on January 22, 2010.
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