BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio Domogan vowed to continue this year the unfinished programs and projects which were either conceptualized or started last year to address various concerns of the city and attain the development goals set by his administration.

            Topping his list were the projects pipelined for solid waste management particularly the rehabilitation of the dumpsite at Irisan barangay for conversion into a park, the continued improvement of the waste segregation scheme in the barangays and enhanced operation of the Environmental Recycling System (ERS) machines.

            The mayor said clearing and development works continue at the dump facility including the areas affected by the fateful trash slide using last year’s calamity fund.

He said bulk of the rehabilitation work which includes the construction of an all-weather retaining wall to stabilize the area as per the plan prepared by the technical working group composed of engineering teams from the city government and the top three universities of the city will be started once the city receives the P80 million fund from the national government.

On the environmental front, the mayor said programs on tree-planting and caring will be sustained along with the campaign for the improvement of air quality in the city and the clearing and cleaning of creeks and tributaries.

The city will also continue to prioritize the rehabilitation of the aging sewer treatment plant (STP) in tandem with the rehabilitation of community septic tanks to improve the management of the city’s liquid wastes.

The mayor said the city devoted the P25 million performance challenge fund it received from the national government to improve the capacity of the STP and this year, the city earmarked P50 million in the proposed city budget to continue the expansion.

The city will also pursue public-private partnerships on the following key ventures: development of Burnham Park, Asin minihydroelectric plants and the improvement of the abattoir.

The city is scheduled to open bids for the Asin hydropower plants on January while the terms of reference for Burnham Park and the slaughterhouse are still being firmed up.

Other priority projects lined up are:

*Improvement of Rose Garden with the first phase set for completion and the second phase under the planning process; Botanical Garden improvement for which a contract for the initial improvement has been signed with a budget of P10.5 million from the city and P2.5 million from the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA); Mines View Park initial improvement with P4 million fund;

*Various infrastructure projects in the barangays for which the city allocated P30 million or 40 percent of the 20 percent development fund and complemented by another P30 million from Rep. Bernarndo Vergara’s development fund;

*Improvement of crime laboratory at the Baguio city police office with P6 million fund; and

*Increased social and health assistance programs for indigents. – A Refuerzo