A BUSINESS group in Bacolod City will not support any mayoralty candidate as they want to remain apolitical.

Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) Chief Executive Director Frank Carbon said they are willing to work with whoever sits as mayor of the city.

“We will not join in the political drama or circus,” Carbon said.

Neither incumbent Mayor Evelio Leonardia nor former Third District representative Alfredo Benitez, so far, have sought the support of the business sector.

While the business sector does not support any particular mayoralty bet, Carbon said they have set criteria on whom to choose.

Carbon likened the choice of who should sit as Bacolod’s chief executive in hiring an applicant for a coveted position in a company that needs to be scrutinized.

“The city is like a huge corporation and if these candidates win, it is the people who will pay for their salaries,” he said.

Carbon stressed that among the qualifications that a mayor should possess is academic preparation that should be in line with his work.

A mayor should also have political articulation while his experiences should meet the requirements of the job, he said.

Carbon warned that “if we allow those who are inexperienced to run the city, then he will just end-up be following the suggestions of other people around him”

He reminded that “at the end of the day, you will lose track and you don’t know anymore where you are heading and will cause our economic vehicle to be immovable.”

The mayor can consider the suggestion of others, but at the end of the day, it will be him who sets the direction and makes actions, the business group leader added.