Province seeks exemption from election ban

THE Cebu Provincial Government has asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to exempt from the election ban the ongoing implementation of 86 infrastructure projects and four other projects set to be implemented.

In an interview on Monday, April 8, Provincial Legal Officer Orvi Ortega said they filed their application along with the list of projects at the Comelec 7 office last March 26.

The regional office will endorse the Capitol’s request to the Comelec central office in Manila.

“No response yet from Comelec (on the request) because the submission was in Manila… There are so many on the list of ongoing projects, one of which is the 20-story resource center. This is already ongoing because it was implemented before March 29,” Ortega said in Cebuano.

According to the list prepared by the Office of the Provincial Engineer Construction, the 86 ongoing projects include the construction of buildings, hospitals, school buildings, road works, bridges and water works.

Item 34 under the buildings category is the P1.3-billion Provincial Resource Center that is expected to be finished in 790 calendar days.

WT Construction Inc., the private contractor that will construct the facility, started demolishing the old Bureau of Agriculture-Extension (Baex) building that stands on the lot where the resource center will rise after the groundbreaking ceremony last Feb. 18.

Provincial Engineer Hector Jamora said other ongoing projects include the construction of road sections in the towns of Daanbantayan, Compostela, Balamban, Argao and Alegria under the annual investment plan worth P300 million.

Also on the list are school buildings in Talisay City and in the towns of Minglanilla, Argao, Dalaguete, Oslob, San Fernando, Boljoon, Carmen, Compostela, San Francisco, Medellin and Sogod.

“We’ve already established a timeline for these projects. For example, we need to pursue the construction of school buildings that have been bid out because these will be used when classes open in June,” Jamora said in Cebuano.

Meanwhile, projects to be implemented include the improvement of the driveway and parking area of the Balamban Provincial Hospital, construction of a slaughterhouse in Moalboal, concreting of the Paknaan access road in Mandaue City and the construction of a trading center for farmers in Dumanjug.

Ortega said they submitted a request for exemption for projects that are both ongoing and to be implemented.

Ongoing projects, he said, are those that were implemented before the election ban on infrastructure projects and disbursement of public funds started last March 29.

“For the ongoing projects, with respect to Comelec Resolution 10511, the project can proceed. But payment for these projects within the prohibited period of March 29 to May 12 cannot be done unless there is a certificate of exception coming from the Comelec,” Ortega added.

Promulgated last March 20, Comelec Resolution 10511 provides the rules and regulations governing the ban on public works and disbursement of public funds in connection to the May 13 elections.

The Capitol has also asked Comelec to exempt projects that were bid out and awarded before the election ban, but their construction falls within the prohibited period. The Capitol needs to secure a certificate of exception before it can proceed with these projects.

“The other one is the maintenance on all completed projects. This can continue. Comelec, though, will require a list of payments if this was outsourced. Otherwise, there is no problem. The ban does not cover salaries paid by the Province,” Ortega said in Cebuano.

However, Ortega said the administration cannot hire additional personnel to perform maintenance work during the election ban.