Bacolod eyes of putting up ‘Bagsakan’ of vegetables, fish

The City Government of Bacolod is now planning to put up a centralized area for wholesaling of vegetables and fish in the city.

Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, chairperson of the City Council committee on appropriations and finance, said Thursday, March 14, that Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez plans to centralize the wholesaling of vegetables and fish to control the price and to ensure the fresh products for the residents of Bacolod.

“It’s like the ‘Bagsakan’ concept or the food terminal,” he said.

He added in Bacolod City, there’s an existing private “Bagsakan” or vegetable center along Libertad Public Market.

Sayson noted that they are eyeing to put up a building at the city-owned lot at the Reclamation Area.

Aside from the city’s lot, Sayson said that they will talk with the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) to do a joint venture agreement (JVA) with the city to utilize their lot adjacent to the area.

“This would be the ‘Bagsakan Center’ for vegetables and fish like the ‘Pala-Pala’ project of the province near a mall in the city,” he said.

He added the city will also provide the facilities like refrigerators to preserve the products.

“We’ve been planning this for a long time, but we don’t have an area for the implementation of the project. Now, we find a place at the Reclamation Area with the PRA,” Sayson stressed.

He said the identified area is also near the high-rise housing project of the city.

“Hopefully, it will generate job opportunities for our constituents,” he added.*