BACOLOD City – Fifteen stalls owners at the Manokan Country in the Reclamation Area have resumed their operations a day after their establishments were closed by the City Legal Office (CLO) for failure to settle their delinquencies at the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO).
The CLO implemented the closure on Monday, Oct. 3, for violation of City Ordinance 565, the local revenue code.
City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. said the 15 tenants were able to settle their accounts at the CTO by executing a compromise agreement and paying an initial amount after their stalls were padlocked.
Their remaining balance shall be paid on a staggered basis until the end of December 2022.
Ting said the city government must strictly implement the ordinance and compel establishments to secure business and sanitary permits because Bacolod is currently celebrating the MassKara Festival and more people will go to the Manokan Country to eat.
Based on the CTO record, the accounts of the 15 stall owners accrued beginning in 1996 for failing to pay their monthly rental of P2,250 plus surcharges, interests and penalties and have now reached more than P600,000 in balance, while others are around P200,000.
On Aug. 16, the city served 17 Manokan Country stall owners their final notices to settle their unpaid accounts until Sept. 30.
According to Ting, there were 18 tenants who failed to settle their accounts as of July 2022, but one of them made a full payment at the CTO prior to the issuance of the final notice. The two others made the full payment before Sept. 30./PN
