President Rodrigo Roa Duterte led the inauguration Monday of the new Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Head Office Building in Pasig City, encouraging both the public and private sectors to invest in people and country.
“I expect that this building complex will encourage both officials and employees to continue working hard for a sustainable, resilient, dynamic and, most of all, people-centered MMDA,” President Duterte said during the inauguration rites.
“In the coming days, we shall see just how helpful this project is in helping the agency achieve its goals.”
He expressed hope that the momentum gained through the project, as well as other previous government projects, will motivate other state offices and institutions to invest in similar undertakings.
“Whether in the public or private sector, I strongly urge you to invest in safer and responsive infrastructure. I urge all of us to invest in our people and country,” he said.
The chief executive congratulated the MMDA for the successful completion of its new headquarters, which will provide the organization the space it needs to function more efficiently.
He also commended the MMDA for working tirelessly to address people’s needs, particularly with the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said made transport management, waste management, disaster prevention, and public safety in Metro Manila more challenging.
The President said It made him proud that in the past two years, the men and women of the MMDA bravely and wholeheartedly took on their tasks in genuine service of their fellow Filipinos.
Considered the agency’s historic milestone, the MMDA Head Office Building is a 20-story state-of-the-art government facility situated on a 1.45-hectare property that houses facilities accommodating the different functions and services.
The new headquarters features the MMDA’s centralized data system, upgraded Metrobase Operations Center and the agency’s corporate auditorium.
It is also a green and sustainable building with a one-star accreditation from the Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE).
Conceptualized by Architect Daryl John Abaygar, its design is influenced by the traditional home silhouette and “solihiya” weave pattern with interlocking strands and patterns, which encapsulates the Filipino people’s bayanihan spirit that mirrors the MMDA’s aspiration as an instrument of collaboration for all local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila.
Also present during the event were Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año, Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, MMDA Chairman Romando Artes, Pasig City Mayor Victor Riges Sotto, and other Metro Manila local government officials.
