New town hall built with local funds

MANILA, Philippines -  The town of Sto. Tomas, the smallest in Pangasinan and classified as a fifth class municipality, proved once again what good governance can accomplish when it was able to build its new municipal hall without resorting to any loan, relying on own local funds and help from friends.

The new air-conditioned building, equipped with modern facilities, was inaugurated last Wednesday in a simple yet meaningful program.

Mayor Vivien Villar told The STAR that unlike other local government units, which resort to getting loans to build their town hall, Sto. Tomas used local funds to complete the project.

“We did the construction little by little and we relied on our own available funds,” she said.

Former congressman Jose de Venecia Jr. donated P4.5 million for the municipal hall project which was used to jumpstart its renovation. The municipal government spent about P14 million for the two-storey building, which houses the offices of the mayor, vice mayor, treasurer and councilors, the Commission on Elections, the session hall of the Sangguniang Bayan, a library, and other municipal offices.