By Mae Singuay

At least 25 stall owners in the Manokan Country will temporarily relocate following the proposed P4 billion development project in Bacolod City’s Reclamation Area next year.

Councilor Al Victor Espino, chairperson of the committee on laws and ordinances, said this during a hearing at the Bacolod City Government Center’s MassKara Hall on Tuesday, October 10, with the Manokan Country vendors for the proposed lease agreement between the city government and a developer giant.

Espino said the vendors will be temporarily transferred to the North Parking Area Terminal Hub of a shopping mall across the Manokan Country in January next year.

The vendors will use the area for free in 12 months, Espino said.

However, they will still have to pay their utility bills, he added.

Espino has reminded the vendors who still have arrears to the city government to settle them now so that they will be assured of their respective places once they return to the newly-developed Manokan Country.

Meanwhile, Manokan Country Vendors president David Montoya said that they are not opposing the proposal.

They have agreed that they will return to their stalls after the development project in 18 months.

The developer will be leasing the city government-owned 16,875-square meter lot, and they will make an advance payment for three years in the amount of P132 million.

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has requested the city council to grant him the authority to sign the lease agreement.

City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III said the proposal to develop Manokan Country is advantageous for Bacolod, as it will not only improve the facility, but also make it a tourist spot.

Based on the proponent’s presentation during the hearing, the development will include a parking area on the third and fourth floors, and facilities for business process outsourcing companies./MS, WDJ