P’sinan town gets new hall

VILLASIS, Pangasinan — The newly constructed town hall here, a gift of Villasinians working or residing abroad to their hometown, is an example of a project undertaken with transparency and public accountability.

Mayor Nonato Abrenica said that it was the full trust of his townmates and their transparency in spending the money raised from conducting the yearly search for Miss Villasis that paved the way for the construction of a new town hall building.

The structure, which cost P13 million to build has a floor area of 1,700 square meters.

"It’s an early Christmas gift for the people as well as for the 200th year birthday of our town next year," Abrencia said.

A soft opening and simple blessing rites were held as about 160 municipal employees started to hold office in their new "home."

The grand inauguration on Jan. 19, 2007 in time for the 200th foundation day of the town will have President Arroyo as guest of honor.

The town hall’s construction can serve as a model for other local government units as it is constructed without resorting to loans or waiting in vain for the promises of officials for fund assistance.

Abrenica said of the P13 million construction cost, P8.5 million came from funds raised from the popularity contests in 2004 to 2006. In 2006 alone, they had a net income of P6.5 million. Previous proceeds were used to buy heavy equipment and streetlights. The remaining amount of construction worth P4.5 million was sourced out from local funds.

Abrenica said, "This is the fruit of the deep sense of involvement of all Villasinians here and abroad."

He said some mayors could not believe he could build a beautiful building with such a small budget.

"This is a dream come true and everybody contributed to the realization of this dream," Abrenica said.