Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto addressed the following points during the weekly flag-raising ceremony:

00:11-00:30: Acknowledgment of City officials, departments, personnel, and representatives from national government agencies who attended the flag-raising ceremony, as well as the host offices from the Economic and Environmental Sectors.

00:31-00:54: Mayor Vico mentioned that some City Hall offices/departments started transferring equipment and office furniture to the temporary City Hall in Bridgetowne. He acknowledges that the transfer can be challenging for everyone but is still manageable. He then said that it's better to prioritize transferring heavy equipment.

00:55-01:11: According to Mayor Vico, once everyone has moved to the temporary City Hall, everyone will have peace of mind, especially, the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, which always reminds everyone about impending dangers brought about by the structural concerns in the current building. He then expressed his hope that everything would turn out well.

01:12-01:20: Mayor Vico also thanked the lessor where the temporary City Hall is located for allowing the Pasig City Hall to gradually move equipment and office furniture even though the lease contract has not formally started yet.

01:20-01:38: He reiterated that the transfer won’t be easy, especially for the operations of City Hall offices/departments. Mayor Vico cited the business renewal every January being handled by the Business Permit and Licensing Department as an example of office operations that will be affected by the temporary transfer of City Hall. He added that he trusts that everything will be okay as long as everyone will cooperate.

01:39-02:08: Mayor Vico reiterated that if the City Government of Pasig planned to do a major redevelopment for Pasig City Hall, it should be future-proofed, which will be beneficial for Pasigueños for at least 50 years, or ideally, 100 years.

02:09-02:16: He also reiterated that the said project not only covers the construction of the City Hall building itself. He explained that it also includes future technology and disaster risk reduction features, among others.

02:17-03:02: Mayor Vico explained that the redevelopment of the Pasig City Hall is under a Design and Build Contract. He then clarified that after the issuance of the Notice of Award and before signing the contract to formalize the undertaking, the contractor with the most qualified bid must submit all details with the detailed estimates for the Pasig City Hall Redevelopment Project.

03:03-03:23: He explained that during the bidding process, the contractor already submitted initial price estimates. However, before signing the contract to start the redevelopment project, the winning contractor must submit a detailed estimate. Mayor Vico then said that according to the law, the detailed estimate must include exact prices per unit, including the brands that will be used for the project.

03:24-03:55: Mayor Vico added that the necessary details to be included are not just for the building itself but also for furniture, computers, and laptops, among others. According to him, the PHP9.6 billion approved budget for the contract (ABC) is not solely for the construction of the building. He reiterated that everything needed for this Redevelopment Project is included in the said ABC.

03:56-04:40: He also explained that the Redevelopment Project will not be done by phase and shared that this will be the first time a major project this big and transparent has been done in the public sector.

04:41-05:20: Mayor Vico also mentioned that the detailed estimate will be shown to the public. He added that he will be preparing a short video or briefer about the Redevelopment Project that can be watched or read by everyone.

05:29-06:18: He also mentioned that he discovered a newly created Facebook page with more than 100,000 followers, who are mostly not under Filipino names or can be considered as trolls. Mayor Vico then said that he is sharing this so that Pasigueños would be aware and cautious. According to him, it is concerning because some people are willing to do anything for position or power.

06:19-07:09: He then added that the said Facebook Page so far only posts good content about the City Government of Pasig. Mayor Vico also said that this is alarming because Pasigueños might trust the Facebook Page and it could be weaponized and potentially be used as a means of disinformation and spreading fake news in the coming months.

07:10-07:54: Mayor Vico reminded everyone to be more careful and cautious about what they see online. According to him, there is no problem with criticisms because the City Government of Pasig is always open to it, that is why the Ugnayan sa Pasig was established as the local government’s way of gathering feedback–may it be positive or negative. However, he emphasized that spreading fake news is not acceptable.

07:55-08:20: He then encouraged everyone to verify everything they see online and always check the source to avoid confusion and disinformation. He emphasized that everyone knows that the City Government aims to continuously improve its processes and services, and, above all, in a transparent manner.

08:21-08:38: Mayor Vico reminded everyone again to be careful and cautious with everything they see, read, and watch online.

08:39-08:58: To summarize, Mayor Vico shared that the contractor has received the Notice of Award for the Pasig City Hall Redevelopment Project. However, before signing the contract, they need to submit a detailed estimate first. He also mentioned that he is just waiting for the detailed estimates so that he can create a briefer related to the project.

08:59-09:03: He also reiterated that City Hall offices/departments started gradually transferring to the temporary City Hall for everyone's peace of mind.

09:04-09:11: To end his speech, he thanked all the City Hall employees for their cooperation.

To watch the full video of the flag-raising ceremony, click this link: https://bit.ly/2024_FlagCeremonyJuly8