SENATOR Panfilo Lacson, chairman of the Senate committee on accounts, is brooding over a P200-million “submissions” for each of the 24 senators to build for the Senate of the Philippines its own building in Taguig City by 2020.
“If all 24 of us would submit our earmarks, for example, why don’t we just—including myself, including Senator [Vicente] Sotto, Senator [Kiko] Pangilinan who did not submit for 2017— submit say P200 million each, or even P100 million each because this would not be finished within one budget year, that’s already P2.4 billion. And imagine a building costing P2.4 billion or P4.8 billion, that would be so beautiful,” explained Lacson.
Lacson, along with Sotto and Pangilinan, did not submit submissions or did not identify projects in the previous year’s narional budget.
Asked how much would the Senate need to move to another site from its current location at the GSIS building in Pasay City, Lacson said they were still doing their math now.
The Senate is paying P170 million a year to use part of the GSIS building in Pasay City.
“That’s why I secured the assistance of the Department of Budget and Management to help them out, including their finance director and in the accounts,” said Lacson.
He said Navy Village in Bonifacio Global City was the most viable site for the new Senate building as it is not hounded by any issue.
He said the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, also in BGC, another possible site, still has to negotiate with the US government.
“And there are uncertainties there. It would be better that everything is under control, the situation is under our control, the Navy village, there’s no issue there because there’s a Supreme Court ruling awarding ownership to BCDA. There were retired Philippine Navy officers left there,” he said.
In Wednesday’s hearing on the transfer of the Senate to another site presided by Lacson, BCDA president and chief executive officer Vivencio Dizon said some senators prefered the Navy Village to two other locations—the Diplomatic Consular area, and the BHIT Park area, both also in Taguig City.
Dizon could not say how much the transfer would cost, but added the area in Navy Village was pegged at P85,000 per square meter.
He said fhe final price was really a talk between government to government so the Senate and BCDA would talk.
Lacson said he wanted the proposed transfer to push through immediately because this proposal to move to a permanent site was first discussed 16 years ago.
Lacson said he would hold a caucus with his colleagues to discuss the transfer of the Senate offices.
“Hopefully this year, we can finish (the talks) and by 2018, we can start the cosntruction. And give or take two years, by 2020, we will be there if we are still alive,” he said.
Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said he had reservations over the proposal because of the administration’s move to shift to a federal system.
“How large will the Senate be after the change in the Constitution? It could range from a 48 to a 72-member Senate,” Pimentel said.
At present, the Senate is composed of only 24 senators.
