THE Negros Occidental Provincial Board concurred on Wednesday April 4, the appointment of Lucille Gelvolea as the head of the Economic Enterprise Development Department (EEDD) of the provincial government.
Gelvolea is also acting provincial administrator while Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. has not yet appointed a provincial administrator to replace her.
Also under Gelvolea is the Special Projects and Concerns Division that has been vacant due to the death of Ian De Ramos; the Local Investment and Promotion Office; and the Negros First Blood Bank Center.
Under the EEDD are the Mambukal Resort, Northern Negros State College of Science and Technology's Nursing School and the Pala-Pala Food Terminal.
Mambukal Holy Week earnings
Gelvolea said Wednesday, there’s one percent drop in the earnings of Mambukal Summer Resort during the Holy Week this year compared last year.
However, she pointed out that for three days, from Good Friday, Black Saturday to Easter Sunday, the resort's earnings were pegged to more than a million.
Gelvolea said that the small drop in the earnings was due to the ongoing renovation of the Convention Center resulting to lesser accommodation for tourists.
The completion of the convention center is expected this summer.
Transforming Pala-Pala
Meanwhile, Gelvolea said at the end of this year, the province targets to complete the Pala-Pala Food Terminal which will be transformed into a food court.
She said they will be meeting with all the tenants and stakeholders of Pala-Pala because its rentals will definitely be higher because of better facilities that will be provided by the Provincial Government.
For now, there are about 50 stalls at the Pala-Pala and with the completion of complex, it will be transformed into a food courts and there will be spaces for dry goods, groceries, storage area, organic trading post, bagsakan of seafoods, meeting rooms and bigger conference room that can accommodate 300 participants.
"Because it is an enterprise, the province will have to recover for its cost," Gelvolea said.