Immediate repair, construction of school buildings urged

November 23, 2020 Metro BLISTT

A councilor is urging the Schools Division of Baguio City and their accredited contractors to commence as soon as possible the campus building repair and construction while students are confined at home under blended learning.
In his resolution, Councilor Vladimir Cayabas said the restriction on face-to-face learning is a timely opportunity for the Department of Education and its partners to start immediately all approved infrastructure projects without sacrificing the high quality of all ongoing school building projects.
“While learners are not physically reporting at school due to the pandemic, strategic preparation for the ensuing months or next school year must be continuous and shall not be disrupted, halted, or unnecessarily delayed,” Cayabas said.
The Schools Division of Baguio City has its School Governance Operations Division (SGOD). According to Cayabas, it is the responsibility of the SGOD to make sure that school facilities are effectively in place, safe, sound, and conducive to learning. Cayabas added that the SGOD is also in charge of the refurbishment/rehabilitation and construction of school buildings in coordination with other local, regional, or national offices like the Department of Public Works and Highways, the National Economic and Development Authority, and the City Buildings and Architecture Office.
Cayabas explained that the continuous implementations of projects with doable target deadlines is in support of and pursuant to the cash budgeting system by virtue of Executive Order (EO) No. 91, entitled “Adopting the Cash Budgeting System Beginning Fiscal Year 2019, and for Other Purposes.”
The cash budgeting system ensures that funding requirements for prioritized programs andprojects are “sufficient, maximized by agencies, and, even more importantly, delivered on time.” The resolution was unanimously approved by the city council on November 9, 2020 and was sent to the City Mayor’s Office for the chief executive’s signature.
Jordan G. Habbiling/ABN