BULUAN, Maguindanao — The provincial government of Maguindanao has asked President Rodrigo Duterte to inaugurate the country’s first-ever provincial capital structure designed after the United States’ White House building.
Engr. Abdulrahman Asim, provincial administrator, said officials are awaiting confirmation from the Office of the President on the request.
Expected to be completed in December, Asim said the building is part of the rising capitol complex here, the seat of the provincial political power since 2009, when Governor Esmael Mangudadatu was elected to head Maguindanao.
Mangudadatu’s three terms as governor will end in June next year. “This complex is my legacy to the people of Maguindanao,” he said during his recent visit to the project site.
“This is an essential part of the reforms and development by the governor,” Asim told reporters. “Its inauguration by the President is fitting,” he added.
Designed by local architects with a façade resembling that of the White House in Washington D.C., the new provincial capitol structure is part of the PHP500-million fund allocation for the complex.
The new building, the construction of which started in 2016, is now 90 percent complete and only finishing touches are still ongoing.
Asim said several provincial offices are due to move into the new structure soon.
Mangudadatu told reporters he had sent an official invitation to President Duterte to lead the inauguration of the structure and expects a positive response within the week. (/PNA)
