• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod ratified March 5 the contract for the P2.1 billion super-city project that was signed by Mayor Alfredo Benitez and Danilo Fernandez Jr. of Highdata Infra Corp. at the Government Center lobby March 3.
Councilors Al Victor Espino, Vladimir Gonzalez, Israel Salanga, Kalaw Puentevella, Jason Villarosa, Celia Matea Flor, Pao Sy, Cindy Rojas, Simplicia Distrito, and Lady Gles Pallen voted in favor of ratifying the Build-Transfer-Maintain agreement, with Councilor Renecito Novero as the lone opposition.
Novero, during the SP session presided over by Councilor Thaddy Sayson, pointed out that the project “is not revenue-making, and not a necessity, as against other priorities that have a direct impact on our people.”
He stressed that aside from “serious legal issues”, there is also “additional financial exposure of the city in overwhelming proportion and technology complexities that will demand supplemental funding.”
“At the speed of technological advancements, the installation on the first year could be antiquated after some time,” Novero said, adding the “city seems nailed to the present set up for 10 years.”
Benitez said at the signing ceremony that Bacolod will pay P125 million this year to Highdata Infra Corp. as the Manila-based company starts implementing the egovernance component of the project, including the establishment of the geographical information system (GIS), and the property and tax assessment system (PTAS).
The PTAS will be designed for efficient transaction processing, property valuation maintenance, and archiving of real property tax records for the purpose of improving the LGU’s tax collection functions.
Benitez said that with the PTAS and GIS, there would be improvement in the city’s tax collection.
“This increase could translate to P450 million a year. And if we are to follow a similar path as that of other LGUs, we would have generated around P5 billion on the 10th year of the project” as against the P2.1 billion project cost, the mayor explained.
Funding for the P2.1 billion project will come from the city’s internally generated funds, Benitez had said, adding that it is more than sufficient to pay for the 10-year project.
Aside from the PTAS and GIS, the project also involves the establishment of a centralized command center (C3) in Barangay Taculing, as well as intelligent street lamp poles with video surveillance analytics (VSA) in strategic areas all over Bacolod.
The C3 is mainly for public safety, emergency response, disaster management, traffic management and monitoring, public announcement, and visual information campaign.
The intelligent street lamp poles with VAS, on the other hand, would ensure extensive and 24/7 visual coverage, and would be integrated into the C3 for video surveillance and data analytics management. | CGC
