BACOLOD City – The temporary relocation site for tenants of Manokan Country, located at the Parking Hub of SM City’s North Wing, is now ready for occupancy, according to city officials.
An inspection was conducted yesterday, September 25, by the City Engineering Office (CEO) and the City Legal Office (CLO) to assess the area provided by SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SPHI) as a temporary space for the Manokan vendors.
The relocation site will be free of charge for the vendors for about two years.
SPHI leased a portion of the city government’s property in Barangay 12, where the current Manokan Country is situated, for a redevelopment project.
Engineer Loben Ceballos, officer-in-charge of the CEO, confirmed that the site is fully functional, with water and electricity facilities already in place.
“The site provided by the private firm is now ready to use,” Ceballos said after the inspection.
City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. added that SPHI is prepared to hand over the temporary site to the city government, but the formal acceptance of the keys has been postponed until the presence of the Manokan tenants, allowing the keys to be directly handed to them.
Out of the 24 stalls available, only 17 tenants are eligible to occupy the relocation site. The remaining vendors are disqualified due to unsettled arrears with the city government, amounting to approximately P500,000 per tenant. These arrears include unpaid rent, surcharges, and penalties.
Ting explained that the tenants are currently in a transition phase, during which the city will brief them on the house rules set by the private firm. Once the tenants have been informed and have transferred their individual utility meters, they will be given a week to complete their move.
The relocation is expected to begin gradually by next week. Once the tenants are fully settled, the city will start fencing off the area they vacate. Ting clarified that there is no need to wait for approval from the Commission on Audit (COA) to proceed with fencing, as it is a separate matter from the COA’s requirements./PN
