BACOLOD City – Bacolod City Mayor Greg Gasataya clarified that the ongoing construction of the city’s new legislative building has a contract cost of P515 million, with only P300 million paid so far, disputing claims that P765 million has already been spent on the project.
Gasataya said the P515-million construction contract had undergone public bidding and is currently being implemented by the winning contractor.
The additional P250 million being associated with the legislative building has yet to undergo bidding and cannot yet be considered part of the project’s actual construction cost, he added.
The P250-million allocation was originally intended for the renovation of Burgos Public Market, which had a proposed budget of P525 million. However, the market renovation was shelved following opposition from vendors.
The amount was subsequently included in the city’s P4.171-billion loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) but remains unutilized.
“What we have now being implemented by the construction company is the P515-million project. It is not P765 million,” Gasataya said.
He explained that the city government had drawn down and paid only P300 million of the existing construction contract.
The mayor said the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) is still assessing the legislative building project’s accomplishment report to determine the appropriate use of the remaining P250 million.
The city government will await the CEO’s findings before deciding on the next steps concerning the additional allocation.
Meanwhile, Gasataya welcomed calls from various sectors for a special audit of all projects and programs funded through the DBP loan, saying he has no objection to further scrutiny of government transactions.
He maintained that the Commission on Audit (COA) regularly examines city government transactions, including procurement processes and payments to contractors.
Documents covering projects are submitted to the COA following the bidding process, while payments made by the city government are likewise subject to the commission’s review, he said.
Gasataya added that the COA’s 2025 audit report had already been furnished to the Sangguniang Panlungsod, allowing city council members to examine its findings.
“For me, there is no problem with a special audit. Having more people or government offices review the city’s transactions is a good move,” he said.
The mayor reiterated that all city-funded projects are subject to COA audit and that the local government is open to further investigation.
He also said the CEO continues to review accomplishment reports of various city projects and submits these to his office.
The clarification came amid calls for a special audit of projects funded through Bacolod’s multibillion-peso DBP loan, particularly the construction of the new legislative building./PN
