Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said the idea of having the new city hall at the present Bacolod Airport site may sound good, but he believes it may not be practical and realistic to consider it as of the moment.

The proposal came from former Bacolod Vice Mayor Ramiro Garcia, who asked the Sangguniang Panlungsod to consider the present Bacolod Airport as a new site, saying it will help spur the development of the southern portion of the city.

Leonardia said he does not know if the SP will consider the proposal. "I'm wondering why we would talk about the airport as a site for the city hall when in the first place, the new airport, at the earliest, is supposed to open in the middle of 2007? "he asked. The schedule for opening the new airport in 2007 is not even a sure thing, he said.

"I believe that if we want a new city hall, we must have our own financial plan on how to build a new government center," Leonardia said. He also said that, although the city has recommended the government-owned property in Brgy. Taculing, he is open to other proposals since his concern is to build the new city hall during their term.

The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod has set the final deadline for all offers for a new city hall site for Bacolod City on Feb. 13, and a public hearing on the offers on Feb. 17. The city has received about 17 offers.

Meanwhile, Leonardia said he believes the Tsinoy community is happy with the result of the first Bacolaodiat festival which gave them enough inspiration. He said he plans to sit down with them again and they might consider it as the first meeting for the 2007 Chinese New Year.

Leonardia said "We will see to it that the Bacolaodiat festival will not be held simultaneously with the Chinese New Year of Iloilo so there will be no competition in terms of visitors."*CGS

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