Bacolod Councilor Dindo Ramos yesterday said the city respects the opinion of the people and the Church regarding the operation of Small Time Lottery in Bacolod City .

However, Ramos said this legislation was passed by Congress because the congressmen believe it will be beneficial to the people. If there is no law allowing a local government to operate STL, the city will not avail of it, he said.

But since there is a law passed by Congress in the belief that STL will be good for the people, he believes the city cannot be faulted if it opted to avail of the benefits under the law, Ramos said.

The resolution favorably endorsing the operation of STL in Bacolod City was approved by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod last month subject to six colatillas.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia recently issued a Mayor's Certificate of No Objection which is subject to the approval of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

Ramos admitted that the STL issue was a moral struggle on their part. He said they listened to the Church and the concerned sectors and have also listened to how the operation of STL can benefit the city. He said they tried to weigh these matters and so they came up with an agreement that the application for the operation of STL is approved only for 12 months.

Ramos also said no one in the City Council moved to reconsider the resolution endorsing the application of the franchisee to operate STL so the resolution stays.

Fr. Anecito Buenafe of the Diocese of Bacolod had said they will continue their protest against STL and will hold a bigger rally later to show their strong opposition against it.

TAKEOVER ORDIANCE

Ramos also said he will submit today to the SP for final draft the proposed “takeover ordinance” with all recommendations they have adopted.

He said the City Mayor's Office had issued a notice of violation to BREDCO and during that time the Mayor gave BREDCO an opportunity to negotiate with the city. Unfortunately, this did not prosper, so Leonardia wrote the SP to vigorously pursue the theory of “takeover.”

Ramos said the ordinance is a product of thorough deliberation and the suggestion of other members of Council who at first did not support the ordinance. He said he hopes they could have the number.

One of the violations committed by BREDCO is when it ceded its rights and interest on the operation of the port to Top Harbor International Inc., which is not a party to the contract, without the consent and authority of the city, Ramos said.

He said this is a gross violation of the agreement between BREDCO and the city. BREDCO also assigned its rights and interest over the port to the bank when it obtained a loan, aside from other violations it had committed, he added.

On the other hand, Ramos said he is giving his son, Sangguniang Kabataan chairman Kevin Daniel Ramos of Brgy. Granada who is running for SK Federation president, moral support.

He said Kevin has good grades as a student of St. John Institute and had garnered the highest number of votes in the entire 61 barangays. He got a total of 351 votes with a margin of more than 200 votes against his opponent, which shows he has leadership qualities, he added.*CGS

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