TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte, Feb. 27 (PNA) — The General Services Office (GSO) of the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) is evolving as a different office which does not solely function as a procurement office but also work for the urban parks and urban greening of the city.
“We have that division as the GSO, being caretaker of government facilities, needs to see government facilities already in place on the ground like the city’s parks and greening projects being protected no less than by the users, the people themselves” said GS officer Percenito Bustamante.
Bustamante said they would now be dealing with the public and not only government offices. “It’s the people who use the facilities, so there is a need for the people to participate on this undertaking,” he said.
People participation is done through community organizing by the GSO’s community organizers. Bustamante said that he initiated the changing of the city GSO’s paradigm since the approval of revised GSO plantilla of positions in 2011.
“It’s boring to keep on doing repeating tasks, so we take life as challenging in GSO through character building activities,” he said, citing that GSO personnel have also been encouraged to make handmade articles during their clear spare time at work, without disturbing public service.
The GSO is an active participant and consistent awardee of “Isla na Maanyag” (beautiful island) program of the Dept. of Interior and Local Government.
Traditionally, a GSO of an LGU has a general function of conducting physical inventory of properties, buildings, machineries and equipment, motor vehicles, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and most importantly in providing procurement services to all departments of the LGU.
It procures supplies, materials and equipment through public bidding and personnel canvass. It also attends to the registration, insurance of all motor vehicles and government buildings with the appropriate government agency.
A GSO delivers basic services such as street lighting, transparent procurement and in keeping complete records and inventory of equipment and plan assets.
But these functions are spiced up by island GSO’s added functions of doing community-based maintenance of urban parks and environmentally-oriented greenery projects.
“That is in keeping with our island’s overall vision of being an urban center in a garden setting,” Bustamante said. (PNA)