Legal or not, GO?

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor CHERYL CRUZ Desk Editor PATRICK PANGILINAN Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

Why is the Bacolod City administration so anxious to give the Bacolod Baywalk Restaurant and Entertainment Place a SPECIAL permit despite the infractions it had been noted to have committed with regards to its operations?

The previous administration had ordered the closure of the Baywalk establishment at the Bacolod Reclamation Area for several reasons. For one, it had set up its establishment on public road, property belonging to the city, or part of the public domain. For another, and most blatantly of all, it had applied for a business permit giving its address as Barangay Singcang, Bacolod City, but actually operating at the Reclamation Area, which is, in another barangay, several kilometers away!

For that, the City then closed down its operations and required it to apply for the proper documents to operate legally.

Now we have city officials who would turn a blind eye to this disregard of the law, by giving it special treatment through a “special” permit to operate while the MassKara Festival is going on.

Bacolod residents should pray that this will not be a continuing pattern in their city. In just less than three months since the new set of officials took over, the city has already been hounded by some very appalling incidents, like the entrapment by the National Bureau of Investigation of an employee of the Office of the Building Official, caught in the act of receiving grease money.

Then came another blockbuster with the startling reduction of the fees charged to a contractor from about P800,000 to only P195,000! Could it be true that someone had ordered the discount? And who benefitted from the portion that went to the “discount”?

Such developments are, indeed, ominous, if not scary. Bacoleños who love their city should, therefore always be on alert, and keep their ears on the ground if they do not want their city’s potential revenues to be plundered, even if only through the “discount” way.*