City, Lhuilliers to give Fuente O P13-M face-lift

A P13-million beautification project of Fuente Osmeña circle was announced yesterday as Cebu City marked 100 years of the landmark fountain and the Buhisan Dam.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said the city government would  work  with businessmen Michel and Amparito Lhuillier to restore the  historical park.

The project, set to start this year,  is a joint effort of the Cebu City Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission and the Lhuilliers, whose family sponsors the giant Christmas tree every year in the park.

“Today is a gathering of historical activities. Fuente belongs to the people of Cebu,” said Rama.

“This is our beginning, this is the people’s park.”

There was no mention during the festivity of the legal battle over Fuente Osmeña with the pending  claim of the Cebu provincial government that it is the original owner of the  land occupied by the fountain.

Cebu City Councilor Margot Osmeña, head of the tourism committee, assured that the dignity of the century-old fountain  would be preserved.

She pointed out that  the public-private partnership in  restoring Fuente Osmeña was already signed in the previous mayoral term of her husband, Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City south district).

The fountain, whose image appears in  P50-  bills was originally called the “Osmeña fountain” after Commonwealth President Sergio Osmeña Sr., grandfather of Tomas, as the elder’s   contribution to  Cebu, especially in  building  the Buhisan Dam and waterworks system. He was Speaker of the Philippine Assembly at the time.

The Osmeña Fountain was the rotunda’s main feature during the inauguration of the city’s water system on Feb. 17, 1912.

Fuente Osmeña Circle became the “heart of the city” and witnessed the growth of Cebuanos, said Dr. Erlinda Alburo, CHAC commissioner.

In 1912, the fountain was in the middle of an empty field, Alburo said.

The fountain and the Buhisan Dam were  built to address the need of Cebuanos for  safe water supply at a time when cholera and disease outbreaks were major health problems.

Yesterday, an acrylic plaque was  installed in the 27-meter-high dam, which produces 5,000 cubic meters  of water a year. The marker has the engraved photo of the Buhisan dam, the Osmeña fountain and  the official seal of the city. /Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya