THE new Operations Kahusay Og Kalinaw (OKK) center that is projected to be completed in June this year will kick off the revitalization of Divisoria as a socio-economic center of Cagayan de Oro City, Mayor Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy said today.
“What’s most important is that (through the OKK) it will be shown that City Hall is ready to help the public at any time in any calamity or emergency situation and ready to extend any assistance to those in need…times are different now but it cannot be denied that Cagayan de Oro’s economic growth originated in Divisoria, the heart of the city,” Mayor Uy said in Visayan.
Uy led City Hall officials in the groundbreaking of the new OKK Center to be rebuilt at the Magsaysay Park in Divisoria, Cagayan de Oro City.
In his message, Uy recalled that as a former employee of a pharmaceutical company in the city 47 years ago, he saw that the former OKK was the police precinct that most city residents turned to for assistance in reporting crimes or emergencies.
The new OKK center will house not only a police precinct but also include offices of the City Social Welfare Development Office, the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Department, the Roads, and Traffic Administration, and the Bureau of Fire Protection, said City Engineering Office chief Jenito Asequia.
“This is subject of course to the mayor’s discretion. Not all personnel will be relocated (in this OKK center) because the building will occupy only 200 square meters of area. The building’s height is subject to restrictions by the National Historical Commission, one of which is that the building shouldn’t be higher than the existing monuments,” Asequia said in his message prior to the groundbreaking.
Asequia said the site will also have a flag pole set up in time for the June 12 observance of Philippine Independence Day.
The contractor for the project is ESR Construction and completion of the OKK Center is set for June 10 this year, he said.
“The OKK is part of Phase 1 of the Divisoria Redevelopment project that covers the Magsaysay Park bloc and the project itself has a timeline of 360 days,” he said in reference to Project Lunhaw.
Project Lunhaw, an urban design partnership agreement between City Hall and the United Nations Habitat’s Building Climate Resiliency Through Urban Plans and Designs, seeks to develop Plaza Divisoria into an urban recreation site and will include Duaw Park and the old Amphitheater site.
Through the completion of the new OKK Center, Uy hopes Duaw Park’s redevelopment will follow soon.
“The three-phase redevelopment of Plaza Divisoria specifically here in Magsaysay Park where the new OKK center will be built will include removal of some but two trees and we sought permission from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on this…I hope that the redevelopment of Divisoria will kick off new buildings because we want to revitalize Divisoria,” Uy said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)
