MassKara Festival street dance to affect 17 PUJ routes

This year’s MassKara Festival street and arena dance competition will start from the SM City Mall towards the Paglaum Sports Complex on October 22, Jericho Redil, treasurer and director for finance and good governance committee of Bacolod Yuhum Foundation Inc. said Monday, October 2.

Redil said in 2022, the MassKara dancers started from Rizal Street, but now it will start from SM City Mall to San Juan Street, to Gonzaga Street, to Araneta Street and towards Paglaum Sports Complex.

He said they are now finalizing the road closure plan for the highlights of the MassKara Festival, adding that it will be approved by the City Council this week.

Redil noted that SM City Mall is one of their big sponsors, and they are requesting that the area be part of the festival.

Redil said that SM City will help them with the electrical connection and sound system in the area.

Major Junjie Liba, head of Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO), said the new routes of the street dance will affect at least 17 routes of public utility jeepneys (PUJs) in the city.

"This will affect the 10 routes of the modernized jeepneys and seven routes of the traditional jeepneys,” he said.

Unlike in 2022, where the MassKara street dance started at Rizal Street, it only affected four routes of public utility jeepneys.

Liba admitted that the new schedule of the street dance was forwarded to him by the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation on Monday.

“We will make our road closure plan at SM City Mall as well as at other festival sites like Lacson Street, which will start from October 16 to 22,” Liba said.

He said it’s an initial plan for the total closure of SM City Mall routes, and all vehicles will pass by at the back of the mall.

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez earlier said that the city will officially open the 44th MassKara Festival on October 6.

Moreover, Katherine Matiling, president of the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation, said this year, they have a sponsorship team who were tasked to handle all the sponsorships of the festival.

“We make sure that all our sponsors should sign a memorandum of agreement with the foundation to ensure their payments and obligations,” she said.

She added that they have a team to monitor all their sponsors.

Based on the financial report of the Bacolod Yuhum Foundation Inc. for the Masskara Festival 2022, which was submitted to Benitez, it showed deficit in its collections during event.

The mayor earlier admitted that last year’s MassKara Festival earned at least P80 million, but they were short of at least P6 million because of too many activities.

Aside from the P6 million deficit, which he personally paid, Benitez said that he also paid other expenses for the 2022 MassKara Festival.

Meanwhile, Matiling said the installation and operation of the kiosks at the Bacolod City Government Center and the public plaza will start on October 4.*