Members of the League of Cities of the Philippines have decided to hold the 50th LCP National Executive Board Meeting-Expanded in Bacolod City from October 19 to 21, during the highlight of the MassKara Festival, Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said yesterday.

Leonardia said this will give an opportunity for the city mayors and their staff from all over the Philippines to experience the festival, although they cannot be accommodated in one hotel. They had requested for 80 to 100 rooms but this is not possible, he added.

“We will continue to pursue this by way of farming out other staff,” he said.

Officially, this is not a solo flight for Bacolod, Leonardia said. This will be a joint hosting of all the city mayors of Negros Occidental and Oriental, he said. This means 13 city mayors in Negros Occidental and five in Negros Oriental, plus one from Guihulngan.

Leonardia said that during their coordinating meeting Tuesday, he suggested that the 18 city mayors in Negros Island will also be farmed out or be given individual specific responsibilities where they will have to personally attend to the different mayors per region.

In their October meeting, the mayors will hold dialogs with the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Interior and Local Government and the National Economic and Development Authority.

Leonardia said US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. will be their speaker during the NEB Meeting-Expanded and that he has also invited the envoy to be the guest of honor at the MassKara.

He expects that this year’s MassKara Festival will be much bigger, especially with the participation of the balikbayans, Leonardia said.

“I would like it to be as grand as it can be and one that people will long remember,” he added.*CGS

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