GOVERNOR Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Tuesday, December 15, that the Provincial Government is studying the possibility of relocating the offices of the Capitol to a property in Talisay City.
On Monday, December 14, Capitol consultant Alfredo Benitez said the plans of moving the seat of the Provincial Government to neighboring Bacolod City is in its early stage.
It is hard for the seat of the Provincial Government to be located in a jurisdiction it does not control, he said.
Bacolod is a highly urbanized city that is not under the jurisdiction of the Negros Occidental Provincial Government.
The governor said the Capitol owns a 25-hectare property in Talisay City.
If we continue with the plan to build new government offices at the old Provincial Administration Center (PAC), "it will be so crowded here and we will have a problem with parking," Lacson said.
He added that the building that will be constructed will be a commercial building.
The idea has been talked about since last year, Lacson said adding that he has talked to some mayors who said it was also a plan of the late Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr.
The area can be used for regional offices as it will be a government center, he added.
Lacson said he will also "seek the wisdom of the business sector."
The current Capitol building will be used for special functions, he said and "it will be used to good use."
"We will maintain these. We will not leave this without any maintenance," he added.
The transfer of the Capitol is aimed to create a new growth center, Lacson said.
The lot is located along the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road in Barangay Efigenio Lizares, Talisay City.
If we make a decision, we will start next year, the governor pointed out.
The budget that will be used for the construction of a new PAC across the Capitol building as earlier mentioned will now be used for the construction of a new facility in Talisay City, Lacson said.
Lacson denied that the plan is "political in nature."