Pasig City Hall: Vico Sotto on Why They're Rebuilding

(SPOT.ph) A lot of buzz surrounds Pasig's plans for building a new City Hall. Formally announced by Mayor Vico Sotto at the start of July, the massive undertaking is set to change what is arguably the city's most vital landmark, and with a price tag of P9.6 billion, it certainly deserves all the attention its getting. 

The construction will take several years, require LGU services and offices to move to a temporary home, and generally cause major adjustments all around for Pasig and its people. The light at the end of the long, dark tunnel? The creation of a Pasig City Campus, a complex that is "for the people," as Mayor Sotto tells SPOT.ph in an interview.

Sotto's administration has always been hinged on transparency, and it's only expected that the plans, process and budgeting for this very important project are documented and shared with the public. The mayor is clear as to the reasons behind the big move: City Hall is no longer safe. It's a simple answer but one that will require carefully orchestrated next steps.

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Why does Pasig need a new City Hall?

The City Hall has occupied its central area since the '60s. Back then, the structure was a simple three-story affair. It would, however, become a Frankenstein's monster of sorts over the years. At least three other major structures were added to the original building, resulting in a nine-level mishmash of beams and poles and uneven floorings. Any Pasigueño who's visited the City Hall in the last decade or so will be familiar with the feeling of walking around at least three different buildings when in fact they've just walked around the same floor.

Cracks in Walls, Uneven Flooring, Structurally Inadequate Columns and Beams

The extensions to the original City Hall structure were added on the sides while the biggest one has been placed over the original three floors. And we say "over" because the mayor notes that this last structure, where his office is located (and where our interview was conducted), has no real foundations of its own.

When Sotto was elected Mayor in 2019, the City Hall was already in bad shape. "Visually, you could see the problems. And sometimes you can hear the problems as well," says Sotto. From small issues like a door he points to nearby that can no longer be opened because the floor had moved, to much bigger, more urgent ones.

The mayor shares two big occurrences that signaled it's high time something is done. The first happened before he was even elected. Sometime in 2019, City Hall workers heard a loud explosion which they chalk up to a jolt between the seventh and eight floor. No one could explain what was behind the sudden movement, and worse, no one could really point to where it came from. Nothing as worrying as that has happened again, but why wait for something similar?

And then in late 2023, personnel from some of the offices rushed out of the building when they felt the structure began shaking. "So we asked them, 'Ano nangyari? Ba't kayo nagpapanic na tumatakbo pababa?'" recalls the Mayor who was told that there must have been an earthquake. Thankfully, they had already installed sensors in the City Hall to check for shaking, and true enough, it had recorded an Intensity 1 level of disturbance. The mayor holds on to two points. First, an Intensity 1 earthquake isn't typically felt in a well-built structure, and second, when they checked with PHILVOCS, no earthquake had been recorded in or near the area. "So gumalaw lang talaga 'yung building mag-isa. Structure mismo siya."

With all the things City Hall folk were hearing and feeling, they conducted a formal investigation. They needed to know what they were working with before changing anything; which is not easy as the as-built plans of the City Hall are nowhere to be found. "When I asked for the plans—just the as-built plans, which every building should have, even your house should have as-built plans—there were no as-built plans for the entire City Hall compound," says the Mayor. He spoke to all the engineers but no one could point to any papers. And so when the idea of retrofitting the structure was floated, all the experts told Sotto was that it would be a bad idea. There was no telling what might happen. A complete demolition was the final answer.

Based on Pasig's structural investigation report, the City Hall structure has 62 columns and, more worryingly, 451 girders or beams that are no longer structurally adequate. In the event of an earthquake, there is not enough space in between for the different structures to sway without hitting each other. On top of all that, the foundation is no longer stable enough that the structure may not make it through a strong earthquake. 

How will the Pasig City Hall move happen?

Sotto's main goal now is just to get to the next step. "Let's get out of here as soon as possible. Just to protect everyone and to make sure everyone is safe."

He continues: "If we could have moved out last year, we would have done it," says Sotto, but there were so many things to consider. "We have 4,000 employees here. We have services that cater to more than 10,000 people per day. Hindi pwede mag-stop 'yun. Kung tumigil ang City Hall kahit isang araw, it will cause a lot of harm and danger also."

The Mayor and his team have been planning for the big move since things began stabilizing post-pandemic. There will be a temporary city hall in Barangay Rosario, within the Bridgetowne estate, where the Mayor's office and a few services will operate from. The most vital services of the City Hall will set up camp still within the Pasig City Hall main complex, just not in the main building. They are also planning to install a shuttle service that will be going from the City Hall complex to the temporary HQ in Bridgetowne and vice versa.

There's no doubt building the new City Hall will take time, and a whole lot of taxpayers' money. But as Sotto points out, the 9.6 billion budget isn't just for the City Hall itself. It's for upgrading the entire complex and making it a place that better serves Pasig's people.

"P9.6 billion is not a small amount. But it's not just the building," the Mayor tells us. "We're talking about [building] evacuation centers in the ground floor and basement. We're talking about a senior citizen center." He says the design of the new complex will even feature an open park between the two main buildings, leading down to the historic Pasig Revolving Tower where people can come and enjoy the open space. "It's not just aesthetics, it will also be functional."

And beyond the structures, the plans also include the fit-outs, the interiors, even the computers and fiber optic cables. "So basically, [kapag nagawa na] 'yung 9.6 billion na 'yan. The next day, 'pag pumasok kami sa office, ballpen na lang ang dala namin."

The new City Hall will be made on a design-and-build contract basis. "We're going through all the processes, the legal processes, with no shortcuts," the mayor assures us. "Before we sign the contract, that's the one thing that is needed from the contractor or the builder. Itemize mo lahat." This means everything from the cost of materials to be used down to the brand, quality, and every possible detail is listed down for approval and yes, accountability.

With the City Hall now virtually a ticking time bomb, the move for a new one is more needed than ever. It won't be an easy path but nothing good ever came easy. If all goes according to plan, Pasig will have a new heart for their city in a few years time. It will naturally be one of the things its beloved city chief will be remembered for, no doubt. But Mayor Vico being Mayor Vico, he says: "This is for the people,"

Photos by Majoy Siason