A committee hearing will be conducted by the Committee on Laws of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod City tomorrow on the request of the Philippine Ports Authority for a port zone delineation of the Banago Port, Bacolod Vice Mayor Greg Gasataya said.

The PPA in Negros Occidental shelved the proposed 2.4 hectare reclamation in Banago, Bacolod City, intended to be used as Banago Port's operations cargo back-up area, in view of the opposition of the residents occupying the 2-hectare area in the property.

PPA port manager Enrique Fuentebaja wrote Gasataya earlier to follow up their request for an endorsement of the port zone delineation of the Banago Port which was submitted to the SP last year.

Gasataya said the city council will meet with resource persons from the PPA and other sectors during the committee hearing, at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

The regular session of the SP was moved to tomorrow, because of a Philippine Councilor's League quarterly meeting in Boracay on Wednesday, he said, adding that they will meet the PPA and other stakeholders first before the start of the regular session.

Gasataya said the city council previously adapted the committee report on the port zone delineation and other concerns of the PPA.

The City Development Council will determine whether or not to give a favorable endorsement to the port zone delineation after deliberation, he said.

Earlier, BREDCO president Simplicio Palanca had requested the SP to look into the project and the alleged blatant violation committed by PPA.

He said the setting up and operation of a port in Banago by PPA-Pulupandan will directly compete with the operation of the Bacolod City Port being managed by BREDCO and will eventually kill the business of the latter.

Palanca said the port managed by PPA-Pulupandan has not conducted any concrete study on the impact of the project on private port operators like BREDCO, who for the past 50 years invested billions of pesos in the reclamation project and establishment of the port for Bacolod City.

The proposed port in Banago is in close proximity if not side-by-side with the Bacolod Port, he said. There are existing RORO facilities at the Bacolod Port and putting up another one will not spur economic activity but will create unfair competition between the Bacolod Port and the PPA Port, Palanca added.*CGS

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