Skate park construction to begin after the polls

CEBU, Philippines — The construction of the skate park behind Fort San Pedro will officially commence after the midterm elections.

Cebu City Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr., the City Council’s chairman on the committee of games, amusement, and sports, said the private architect and the Cebu City Sports Commission have finished processing all the necessary permits recently.

These permits include development permits, planning permits, electrical permits, and other required permits for the construction of the said facility.

“Ang update sa skate park, everything is ready, all the permits…Two or three days ago, nagpinirmahay na ang mga engineers. In other words, complete na g’yud ang pagtrabaho nalang,” Gabuya told reporters yesterday.

The groundbreaking for the skate park was done five months ago.

Gabuya explained that they waited for the concerned offices to complete all the permits before the construction to avoid irregularities in the future.

He said he got the nod of Mayor Tomas Osmeña to start the construction after the election since it was just recently that all permits were secured.

“Unya hapit naman ang eleksyon, busy kaayo na, nakig-estorya ko ni Mayor Tom nga after nalang g’yud sa eleksyon,” Gabuya said.

Phase 1 of the construction is expected to take at least three months.

The contractor will be working with the P5 million being funded by the sister of the mayor, Maria Victoria “Minnie” Osmeña.

The skate park will feature a rink with street course, a flat course for beginners, a half-pipe, a bowl, a pump track, and a mini-grandstand. Phase 1 of the project involves the flat course and street course.

Gabuya has no idea yet who the contractor of the project is since it was Victoria who made the negotiation as stated in the memorandum of agreement.

The city government will have the authority to manage the facility once it will be completed.

Under the terms and conditions, Minnie will be responsible for the construction of the skate park and will turn over the facility to the city government once it is completed.

Gabuya said the estimated cost of the construction for the entire skate park is P18 million. That is why they are still looking for ways to finance Phase 2.

For the meantime, skateboarders are temporarily using the Cebu City Sports Institute in Barangay Sawang Calero after it was made available for them by the city government.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña promised to build the skate park after Cebuana skateboarder Margielyn Didal won a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games.  — BRP (FREEMAN)