TAYABAS CITY, Quezon – A city hall built at a staggering budget of P500 million in Barangay Baguio and arguably the biggest in this province was inaugurated on Tuesday, May 9.

MAYOR Lovely Reynoso-Pontioso (sixth from left), with Bishop Mel Rey-Uy, the city council, and provincial and local officials, unveil the marker of the new Tayabas City Hall in Barangay Baguio on Tuesday, May 9. (Danny Estacio)

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City Mayor Lovelyn Reynoso-Pontioso attended the inauguration and blessing performed by Bishop Mel Rey-Uy, Diocese of Lucena, and witnessed by city employees, municipal mayors, 66 barangay chairmen, and representatives from national and local agencies and non-government organizations.

The building was erected in a 29,63-square meter lot in an open field with flat terrain. It is a three-story building with a roof deck and has an approximate gross floor area of 13,460-square meters.

Mayor Pontioso said that the location of the city hall is accessible through the Tayabas-Sariaya Road and Tayabas Bypass Road.

She recalled that the planned construction was started in 2018, during the time of her mother, former City Mayor Ernida Reynoso.

Sangguniang Panglunsod Ordinance No. 18-19 authorized the city government then to secure a loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) for the construction of the edifice in 2019.

The declaration of Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 caused considerable delays on the project which was completed this year.