Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday signed into law City Ordinance No. 576, or an ordinance creating the Bacolod City Chinatown Center, in the presence of Sangguniang members and officers of Filipino-Chinese community at the Bacolod City Government Center.

The ordinance said “The Bacolod City Chinatown Center will be established at the Capitol Shopping Center, a once prime commercial district of the city, which presently needs to be afforded attention and concern by the city government as it was once the proud business center of our Tsinoy brothers and would be future tourist destination for the city.”

Leonardia said “We can say that, upon signing of this ordinance, we hit the ground running, and we thank the Tsinoy community for their support. After all, this is a government-private sector partnership,” he added.

He said the establishment of the Center will concretize the presence of the Filipino-Chinese community who had been in Bacolod for so long. “We have even gone as far as celebrating the Chinese New Year through the BacoLaodiat Festival,” he added.

Leonardia said they envision that the Bacolod Chinatown Center will become a new growth center in Bacolod. The Tsinoys, are noted for their business acumen and if properly motivated and supported, Bacolod officials are confident that something positive will come out of the project.

Witnessing the signing ceremony were Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson and Councilors El Cid Familiaran, Roberto Rojas, Dindo Ramos, and Em Legaspi-Ang, City Planning and Development Office head Lemuel Reynaldo, Bacolod Police Director Senior Supt. Ricardo De La Paz, and City Tourism Officer Imogene Kana-an.

The Chinese community was represented by BacoLadiat Foundation president Leonito Lopue and vice chairman Crispin Chua, and directors Terry Gochangco and Lily Go; 888 Mall owner William Ong; Bacolod Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. president Ben Ortega, Southern Negros Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry president John Yap and directors Johnny Yap and Philip Yap; and Enrique Dy of the Amity Volunteer Fire Brigade.

After the signing of the ordinance, Leonardia immediately convened the Bacolod City Chinatown Development Council which he said is composed of multi-sectoral groups including government department heads and the police.

During its first organizational meeting, the Council created several committees: the Master Plan Committee, the Incentives, Trade and Industry Committee, the Infrastructure Committee, the Security and Traffic Committee, and the Public Relations Committee, and also appointed their chairmen and members.

The Council also agreed to hold regular meetings every second Thursday of the month.

Councilor Dindo Ramos, who authored the ordinance, said they will put up a Police Station that will provide 24 hours police visibility in the area.

The ordinance said persons or entities who wish to finance the redevelopment of Shopping Center into a prosperous Chinatown Center will be entitled to a refund in the form of Tax Credit Certificate.

Councilor Em Ang, earlier had said that 70 percent of the cost of the project they will put up in the Center will be paid by the city in the form of tax credits to be spread over a period of five years.

The upgrading of the area will be administered by the Council headed by the City Mayor as chairman, and the Vice Mayor as vice chairman.

The ordinance provides that the city government will appropriate not less than P15 million as initial funding for the improvement of the infrastructure such as, but not limited to, welcome arch, cleaning, greening and landscaping and road concreting within the area of the Bacolod City Chinatown Center.*CGS

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