Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. yesterday said he will raise to President Benigno Aquino III the delay in the ruling of the Commission on Audit on the contracts for the sale and lease by the Negros Occidental provincial government of its 7.7-hectare property in Bacolod City to Ayala Land as a last resort.

The contracts were submitted to COA for review in August last year, and the governor has been asking the Commission to rule on them.

The Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bacolod Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod have also called for COA action, saying it is delaying development for Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.

The governor said he will ask for an appointment with the president to raise the matter next week.

He said he will also invite the president to attend the inauguration of the additional 150-bed facility at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City.

The president had also attended its groundbreaking in March 2011.

The Department of Health has given the provincial hospital a P50 million Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine, which is used in detecting and delineating tumors and in providing images of the brain, the heart, and other soft-tissue organs.

The bidding for the MRI has already been conducted and the machine is set for delivery soon, he added.

Meanwhile, the governor said the construction of seven new cottages with 28 rooms costing about P27 million at the Mambukal Resort in Murcia town is nearing completion, with just the finishing touches being done now.*CPG

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