With project cost now up by 10-M
Covered court project starts construction
The previously proposed 25 million-peso building project approved March of 2015 upped its cost to Php 35 million, along with assurances from the Office of Administration and Finance that the additional amount will not be student-funded. The construction started this year after a long delay.
The preparation for the establishment of the said covered court started two years ago, including the planning, the conceptualization of architectural, electrical and structural design, as well as soil testing. However, the execution only started last year.
According to Fr. Edwin A. Lao, the school’s VP for Finance and the project’s head, they are using “cast-in-place concrete,” a special technology which involves mixing and casting the concrete on site. They are using this technology since the traditional way of digging is not advisable for a swampy ground of the building site. Some reports revealed that there used to be a river located at the site formerly connected to Yawa River. Thus, the foundation is done by drilling and not by digging.
Lao likened the method to how oil is pumped by a machine during oil exploration. The building would be 15 meters high and the foundation must be 15 meters deep as well. After drilling, the manual construction would start and there would be 64 holes to support the erect structure.
The project was referred to the students two years ago through representatives in the form of parents in the basic education, elementary and high school, and a student consultation with student leaders for the college department. A 1,000 peso contribution per year was agreed upon. It will take an estimate of 7–8 years to collect from the students but the covered court is expected to be functional next year.
In the consultation, the budget proposed was Php 25 million but they still need to furnish the building with sound system, movable stage and basketball rings, and so an additional Php 10 million was added to the total project cost.
Student concerns
It has been observed that there would be trees that need to be cut downnear the building site. Lao assured that if there would be trees to be cut down, it would be minimal.
“If the students are very concerned with the trees, how much more we, who are adults and are responsible for the young people coming after us?” said Lao.
Students also asked why a covered court is needed when the AUL Dome is present. Some also asked why the school didn’t prioritize the salary increase of the employees which they think is the root cause of the shortage of faculty members.
Lao responded that the construction of the covered court is intended as an assembly space for students, and a space for sports, drama presentations, and different organizational activities. It would also accommodate the PE classes of senior high and college students. He also mentioned that even if the covered court is finished, there would be no assurance that existing infrastructure could answer the congestion of the growing population of the students.
As to the latter concern of the students, he said that there is no connection between the salary increase and the shortage of the faculty. He clarified that private institutions really can’t keep up with the standardization of salary in state universities for it would only cause an increase in tuition fees which would be another burden to the students. The construction of the multi-purpose covered court has nothing to do with the said issue, he voiced. ■ by Ma. Joan B. Sauler and Claire B. Gallanosa
