DepEd secretary lets city draft program for school buildings

CEBU, Philippines – Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young yesterday announced that Department of Education Secretary Armin Luistro has agreed to let the city government prepare the program of works and estimates of school buildings that will be constructed here.

Young said he was able to convince the new DepEd secretary that the national government can save millions of pesos if it will adopt the programs of works and estimates prepared by personnel of the City Hall's Department of Engineering and Public Works, which are much cheaper in cost.

The vice mayor flew to Manila last Tuesday to meet with Luistro and personally told the latter that the school buildings constructed by DepEd in the city cost more than P1million per classroom, while other school buildings built by the city only cost P575,000 to P828,125.

Young said Luistro is amenable to his suggestion, but the city government will not intervene in the conduct of the biddings for the projects.

He said the costs of the city-constructed classrooms are much lower even if the school buildings are equipped with eight units of toilets for boys and girls, lavatories, and stainless steel water tanks.

DepEd-7 Regional Director Recaredo Borgonia earlier assured to look into the details of the POWE of the school building projects implemented by their agency.

Young said not only that the buildings constructed by the DepEd are overpriced, but these are also substandard because some of them have no stairs, not painted, no ceiling on the upper floors.

DepEd is scheduled to construct more school buildings in the city worth P21 million and Young said he will make sure that it will based on the POWE that are to be prepared by the city engineers. (THE FREEMAN)