Belmonte to national government agencies: Coordinate infrastructure projects

MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte yesterday called on national government agencies to properly coordinate with the local government their infrastructure projects in the city to avoid wastage of funding and inconvenience to the public.

“Close coordination between the city and national governments would avoid duplication of projects, as well as promote efficient planning and delivery of services for QCitizens, not to mention judicious allocation of public funds,” Belmonte said in a statement.

She issued the call after receiving complaints about some national government offices not coordinating their infrastructure projects with city hall.

“Proper alignment would avoid or minimize any hassles the projects may bring to our QCitizens, especially on traffic flows that may hamper their travel to work, school and other destinations,” Belmonte said.

City engineer Dale Perral cited Ordinance No. SP-2939, S-2020, which requires all government agencies, offices as well as corporations to coordinate with the local government infrastructure projects within Quezon City, whether currently being implemented or in the planning stages.

The ordinance mandates national government agencies to submit a written correspondence indicating pertinent details about the project to the mayor’s office, according to Perral.

Belmonte’s office will then issue a Certificate of Coordination, which will allow the granting of permits, clearances and other documents to any national project within the city.

“The city government is considering filing administrative and even criminal complaints against those who fail to coordinate their infrastructure projects pursuant to the National Building Code,” city hall said.