LIKE Manny Pacquiao, Antipolo finds all the odds stacked against it in the city’s bid to have the Senate of the Philippines relocate to the city.
Antipolo Mayor Casimiro “Jun” Ynares made the comparison between Antipolo and Taguig City—which are being considered for the new offices of the Senate—yesterday during the joint flag ceremony of Antipolo City and Rizal Province at the Ynares Center.
“If Pacquiao was fighting in Australia against an Australian, then in our case there are senators from Taguig (who want to move to Taguig), but no senators from Antipolo. Most of the senators also have their homes near Taguig,” said Ynares.
The Senate is considering relocating from its present office location in Pasay City to another site—possibly the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig—because of the hefty P119 million annual rent that must be paid for use of the GSIS Building in Roxas Boulevard, the legislature’s current headquarters.
The mayor said despite the odds, Antipolo is the better choice.
The city is willing to give a 25-hectare lot for free for the Senate to build their new building in a prime location in Antipolo, according to Ynares.
Antipolo certainly has less traffic compared to the proposed location in Taguig, and is closer to the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City making it more accessible to members of the House of Representatives.
Antipolo is also more accessible to the public, especially ordinary commuters who can traverse Ortigas Avenue Extension to Antipolo or Marcos Highway through to the Marikina-Infanta Road, which extends all the way to Quezon Province. The road is already eight lanes wide, and there is room for expansion, Ynares noted.
The LRT2 also travels from its terminus at the Carriedo terminal all the way to Santolan near Antipolo. Construction is underway to extend the line all the way to the corner of Marcos and Sumulong Highways in Antipolo, just a few kilometers from the proposed Senate location. The extension is expected to be completed in late 2018 or early 2019.
Even the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology prefers the Antipolo location, said Ynares, because Taguig is located along the West Valley Fault making it vulnerable to earthquakes — compared to Antipolo, which is not located on any fault line.
Additionally, the proposed location is at the elevated part of Antipolo, which ensures that it will be free from floods.
The location is on a hilltop, giving everyone there a panoramic 360-degree unobstructed view of the neighboring areas, including Metro Manila and the rest of the province of Rizal.
Ynares said he made the presentation during the joint flag ceremony because he wanted to explain the advantages of having the Senate home in Antipolo to his constituents in the city, before appealing to the residents of Antipolo and Rizal to support the city’s bid.