‘P2.15M needed to repair fountain, Parian monument’

Cebu City Councilor Margot Osmeña is seeking a P2.15-million outlay for the immediate repair of cracks in the Fuente Osmeña fountain and the Parian Heritage Monument.

Osmeña said the repair of the century-old fountain should be done this year.

She identified unspent funds of P150,000 from the Cebu City Tourism Commission’s maintenance and other operating expenses that could be used for the repair of the fountain’s upper stem.

However, Osmeña said the bigger outlay of P2 million for the repair of the monument should be “included in the city’s next supplemental budget or in the 2012 appropriation for the City Parks and Playgrounds Commission, which maintains the monument.”

Ariel dela Cruz, structural consultant of the Department of Engineering and Public Works, was earlier sent to inspect the two structures.

In his report, Dela Cruz said that the cracks in the Fuente Osmeña fountain need repair as they might “pose threats to public safety.”

Dela Cruz said the upper stem of the fountain showed signs of diagonal shear cracks.

But he said the cracks on the walls of the Parian Heritage Monument don’t affect its structural stability since these were mostly for sculpturing and aesthetic purposes.

He suggested that there should be annual preventive maintenance done for the monument to prevent further damage especially since it’s exposed to heavy rainfall and varied weather conditions.

Dela Cruz was sent to inspect the structures after Librado Macaraya Jr., chairman of the Cebu City Parks and Playground Commission, called the council’s attention to cracks that he observed in the base of both structures.

Macaraya worried that the cracks may affect the structural integrity of the fountain and the bronze sculptures in the Parian district.

He asked that these be inspected.

The council referred the matter to the DEPW, who sent Dela Cruz to inspect both structures./Correspondent Edison A. Delos Angeles