The Bacolod City government hopes to earn revenue from the gate receipts of the Bacolod Baywalk Restaurant and Entertainment Place at the Reclamation Area once the establishment is granted a special permit to operate for the duration of the MassKara Festival, Bacolod City Administrator Rolando Villamor said yesterday.

Villamor said representatives of Baywalk submitted their proposal for the MassKara Festival from October 1-20, during their meeting yesterday which will be presented to Mayor Monico Puentevella. The city will also submit its counter-proposal but nothing is final until the Mayor says so, he said.

He said Baywalk plans to charge an entrance fee of P20 per person while vehicles will be charged P50 which includes the driver. Senior citizens and children will be charged
P15.

Villamor said Baywalk has proposed to share 10 percent revenue in gate receipts to the city. They asked the representatives of Baywalk if they could increase the revenue of the city but they will still have to confer with the management on the matter.

But negotiations will still continue until such time a fair and reasonable sharing scheme is attained, he said.

Villamor said about 42 temporary kiosks will be put up inside Baywalk and the rental will be paid to the city. There will also be bars, restaurants, bands and other entertainment inside the Baywalk area.

CITY ROAD USED

Meanwhile, former City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatansaid Baywalk is occupying a public road which the city believes it owns under the Comprehensive Revised Reclamation Agreement.Baywalk has closed a public road for their business which is for public use and the defect is very substantial, he said.

Bayatan said the apron, bay area and port all belongs to the city and he cannot give the city advice insofar as granting Baywalk a special permit.

“They just have to be very careful on the matter because they will be tinkering with the rights of the public. There is no compromise with public property because that is public domain,” he said.

Bayatan said Villamor is a lawyer and so is his daughter, who is the present City Legal Officer. So, they have to act on the matter cautiously because the eyes of the public are on them.

The Bacolod City government, under the previous administration, temporarily closed down the operation of Baywalk early this year because of a deficiency in its business permit.

The address given in the Mayor’s permit is Brgy. Singcang, which is the address of its principal corporation, Almana Property and Development Corp., but it is operating at the Reclamation Area.*CGS

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