Nueva Ecija has new government center

Government offices operating at the old capitol in Cabanatuan City will soon operate in this five-story building
in Palayan City’s business hub. —ARMAND GALANG

PALAYAN CITY—A government contractor has turned over to the provincial government a five-level government center, which would form part of the P1.5-billion business hub of this city.

Gov. Czarina Umali, who led the Nov. 23 ceremonial hand over, said the new building may house almost all national agency offices currently hosted by the old capitol building in Cabanatuan City.

Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas said the completion of the facility makes her city finally the center of government for the province in line with President Duterte’s goal of centralizing vital government services for the people’s convenience.

Palayan is a fourth class city about 17 kilometers east of Cabanatuan City, and has served as Nueva Ecija’s capital since 1965. It has 37,219 residents as of the 2010 census.

Among the agencies that intend to hold office at the new building are the National Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Education, the Commission on Elections, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Civil service Commission.

Umali said the project demonstrates how the “once barren government land” could be transformed into an “integral institutional and civic complex.”

The 3-hectare government compound, which would also host a 15,000-seat business process outsourcing hub and a 120-room business hotel, was donated by the city government to the provincial government.

The government center is expected to be occupied by these offices in January next year. The entire hub should be fully operational within the first quarter of 2017. —ARMAND GALANG