Bacolod to close Manokan Country on July 22

The City Government of Bacolod will implement the closure of the Manokan Country on July 22 after the deadline of the two-week extension granted to the tenants so they can transfer to their temporary space at the terminal hub of SM City for the construction of the new Monakan Country building, City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting, Jr. said on Tuesday, July 9.

Ting said the two-week extension will end on July 20, however, they will implement the closure order on July 22, which is Monday.

He said the tenants already submitted their compromise agreement to the city over the weekend stating their terms and conditions to transfer to their temporary space at SM City.

However, he added that not all the conditions they stated in the letter will be granted by the city.

Ting noted that the tenants asked the city to lower the rate once the new Manokan Country building is completed by SM City.

Ting said the tenants also asked the city that the new building should be managed by the local government unit.

“ The rate will be governed by the contract of lease of the city and the new building will be managed by the mall based on the contract they’ve signed with the city government,” he said.

If the city will grant all their requests, he added that the city will violate the contract they've signed with the SM.

" Not all their request will be granted," he added.

As part of the tenants' request, Ting said the tenants will be allowed to transfer to their temporary space at SM despite their arrears with the promise to pay for it.

“ They were given two weeks or until July 20 to transfer to their temporary space at the terminal hub of SM City, and by July 22, we will close their stalls,” Ting said.

He said they would also verify the signatures of the tenants that appeared on the compromise agreement that was submitted to the CLO.

" We want to ensure that they signed the documents where they agreed to transfer to their temporary space at SM," he added.

The tenants were earlier given a two-week extension so they could process their water meter and power connection at the terminal hub.

“ It’s an individual application of water meter and power connection and they were given an extension of two weeks to process,” Ting said.

He said the two-week extension is for the tenants who agreed to transfer to their temporary space at SM City and those who refused to transfer will be closed this week.

Of 24 tenants, he added that only one of them did not sign their compromise agreement.

On June 4, the CLO served the notice to vacate to 26 tenants. They were given until July 5 to vacate their stalls and occupy their temporary space at the terminal hub of  SM City for the construction of the Monakan Country building.

Ting said the tenants will be allowed to use Fr. Ferrero Street in Barangay 12 to accommodate their customers.

He said that the schedule of the closure will be final and no more dialogue with the tenants./MAP.