ongoing construction of the new Leyte provincial capitol building located in Barangay Pawing, Palo. The construction
of the new seat of provincial government is expected to be finished by December of this year. Joining the governor
during his visit were Vice Gov. Carlo Loreto and members of the provincial board. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
PALO, Leyte – The construction of the new provincial capitol building of Leyte located within the 14-hectare property owned by the province located along the Palo West Bypass road, in Barangay Pawing, here, is expected to be finished by December of this year.
This was disclosed by Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla who said that they are targeting to occupy the new building by February of next year.
The new provincial capitol, being built at a cost of P800 million with the construction started last Jan.21,2020, covers half of the 14-hectare property of the province. It is a five-storey building, with a mini-theater inside and a helipad on rooftop.
It will house all offices of the provincial government that are currently located at the current provincial capitol building in Tacloban City and in this town.
The new location, according to Gov. Petilla, is ideal because it is located several kilometers away from the sea, making it safe from storm surge unlike to the old provincial capitol building and his current office located in Barangay Candahug at the Government Center, also this town.
When super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ devastated Tacloban City in November 8, 2013, parts of the provincial capitol building was submerged to sea water brought by the storm surge.
During the July 2017 6.5 magnitude quake, parts of the building foundation was damaged resulting for the provincial government to order some departments to hold their offices to other buildings owned by the province, including the Governor’s Office.
“We need to build something that can withstand calamities like storm surge, typhoon, and it is also designed to withstand strong earthquake,” Petilla, who is on his last and third term, said.
Petilla added that they are still finalizing how they will utilized the current provincial capitol building in Tacloban City.
He, however, said that it could be converted into a museum because it is one of the remaining historical buildings in Leyte relative to the World War II.
During the World War II, the building was used as temporary seat of government by then President Sergio Osmeña after Gen. Douglas McArthur and Allied Forces set foot in Leyte in October 20, 1944 when Tacloban was declared as the temporary capital of the Philippines while Manila is not yet liberated from the hands of Japanese Forces.
“But our focus now is to provide offices to our employees because as of the moment the various department of the province is scattered in various places,” he said.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
