Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday encouraged businessmen operating at the Libertad Market and its vicinity to cope with the development in Bacolod City by continuously innovating, improving and enticing their clients to continue patronizing them.

The businessmen expressed apprehension that their businesses would be affected by the transfer of the terminal to the Sambok South Terminal at Lopez Jaena-San Sebastian streets, Bacolod, during a meeting with the mayor and Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson Wednesday at the Bacolod City Government Center.

Leonardia said he presented to them the reality in Bacolod that the “giants” or big malls have come, so they have to implement improvements in their businesses to be able to cope with the development.

“The mere fact that the two titans - SM and Ayala groups are fighting it out to get the choice lots of the province is flattering to us, which tells us that indeed they must gave seen ‘gold’ in Bacolod City,” he said.

These are business experts who would not make decisions without the backing of an independent and expert study on the situation in Bacolod City, he added.

Leonardia said the businessmen were enlightened during their meeting after Sayson and some technical men gave them a birds-eye-view of the situation and were assured that there will be no complete withdrawal of transportation facilities from the Libertad Market.

He said they will transfer the terminal to the Sambok South Terminal by July 30 but public utility vehicles will continue to load and unload passengers at the waiting station in Libertad.

“I emphasized to them that the better the traffic conditions are, the better for business,” he added.

City Ordinance 187, which requires all southbound transport utility vehicles to use the Sambok South Terminal, was enacted in 1997.

Meanwhile, Leonardia said he has directed City Administrator Rogelio Balo to make a feasibility study to transfer the southbound terminal to decongest traffic in Bacolod City.

Going back to history, the north and southbound terminals were at the Central Market, he said. These were later moved to Libertad and Shopping to decongest the downtown area, he added.

But time also caught up that Libertad became congested in the same way that it was no longer feasible to maintain the north terminal inside the city, Leonardia said.

A north terminal is now being constructed by a private contractor in Brgy. Bata and is expected to become operational once the flyover is inaugurated in August.*CGS

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