She has directly addressed the matter.
In a post on her Facebook account, Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo directly answered the question by Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice on the PHP500 million fund granted by the national government for the Jesse Robredo Coliseum (also known as the Naga City Coliseum).
She explained that the said coliseum was constructed in 2009 and opened in 2010, with a seating capacity for 12,000 spectators intended for concerts, sports competitions, and conventions.
“But because of the frequent typhoons that besiege Naga, it has, over the years, become the largest evacuation center, housing thousands of families during calamities. It has also weathered countless typhoons and several earthquakes during its 16 years of existence,” she added.
Given that it had another purpose, it is not abke to provide basic amenities that a basic evacuation center has, with “very limited space for tents, bleachers that cannot be used as beds, comfort rooms that cannot be used during floods because they are located on the ground floor, no communal kitchens, no areas to house relief goods, etc.“
Mayor Robredo said that after Typhoon Kristine in October 2024, the need to repair and retrofit the coliseum beame highly needed.
“As soon as I assumed office in 2025, I tried to look for funding already for its rehabilitation. It was difficult because of the big amount that is required. Senator Kiko Pangilinan advised me that we could apply for LGSF Funding because of the nature of the project, which we did,” she added.
Thus, in early February 2026, the Naga LGU was advised that the request was already approved in principle.
On February 23, 2026, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. visited Naga and handed already to the LGU the PHP450M for the repair and rehabilitation of the Coliseum and another PHP50M for heavy equipment that needed to strengthen our resilience against disasters.
“Even if we have the SARO (Special Allotment Release Order) already, we cannot start with the construction yet because a number of government and non-government agencies/organizations hold office at the Coliseum and we needed a place where we could relocate them while construction is ongoing,” she said.
The local chief executive also said that temporary offices for the affected agencies will be ready by October, with bidding for the coliseum project only starting in September.
“Right now, we are already in the post qualification stage and, hopefully, construction can start within the month of October,” she added.
