The approval by City Development Council of the request of the Philippine Ports Authority for port zone delineation in Brgy. Banago, Bacolod is not yet final as it requires the concurrence of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, Councilor Caesar Distrito said yesterday.

Distrito, who has assumed the chairmanship of the SP Committee on Government Assets, said a lot of factors have to be considered first, before the portdelineation is approved by the SP.

Some questions are why the port development is necessary before the P420-million port development is implemented and why it will consist of 21 hectares and not the finger port alone, he said.

Distrito said other questions are about the boundaries and coverage of the port zonedelineation andwhat will happen to the thousands of residents living along the shoreline of Banago, and other legal issues that may come out during their deliberation.

A public hearing will also be conducted to hear the side of the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corporation, the present operator of the city port, especially on the letter of its president, Simplicio Palanca, questioning the delineationand the opening of the Banago Port, he said.

Distrito added that they will take into consideration the points raised by Palanca in his letter to the SP and give him that privilege, considering his contribution to the development of the city, although they also want to hear from him that he is willing to increase the rental fees that BREDCO is paying the city.

The Barangay Council of Banago also passed a resolution requesting for a hearing on their concerns and fears about the effect of the CDC action on port delineation to Banago residents, he said.

Distrito assured that their eration vis-a-vis the development in the said area.

Meanwhile. Banago Barangay Captain Benjamin Baldo said they are appealing to the SP not to approve the resolution of the City Development Council involving the zonal delineation.

He said they want a public hearing conducted first since his constituents, especially those living in Purok Nami-Nami, will be affected.

Baldo said they have conveyed their concerns to Councilor El Cid Familiaran, chairman of the SP Committee on Urban Poor, and Abang Lingkod Partylist Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, who is a member of the Committee on Urban Housing.

The project could bring developments to their barangay but the problem is that the residents will be displaced and they do not know where they will be relocated, he said.

Baldo said about 80 houses that be affected by the project based on a survey conducted by the PPA.*CGS

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