Baybay to build new city hall

BAYBAY CITY, Sept. 18 – The local government here will build a four-story modern city hall outside the downtown area as one of the strategies to decongest the city.

Mayor Carmen Cari, in a phone interview, said Monday the PHP400-million building will rise along the city’s new diversion road where some new government facilities are located.

“We pushed through this plan because of the need for a larger space for all offices that provide basic services,” Cari said.

The building, with a floor area of 42,000 square meters, will have an elevator and wider parking space. It will also house the local legislative building.

Earlier, the local government relocated its city police office and library to the diversion road area.

The old city hall located along Ramon Magsaysay Avenue will not be demolished as it will be leased by the City Trial Court.

Baybay, a component city located 107 kilometers south of Tacloban, the regional capital, has a population of 109,432 based on the 2015 census. 

With an area of 45,934 hectares, it is the second largest city in the province after Ormoc City. Baybay is a major port on the west coast of Leyte province, where ferries leave for Cebu and other islands.

It is the home of premier school Visayas State University, one of the leading schools in Southeast Asia on agricultural research. (LAAA/PNA)