The Bacolod City government is proposing an "upward adjustment", or increase, in compensation for the management and operation of the BREDCO port to P17.5 million annually from the present P800,000.

Secretary to the Mayor Roger Balo, spokesman of the city negotiating panel, said yesterday the proposed amount, which is 21.5 times the original annual rental, was based on the gross income of the port from the records of the Philippine Ports Authority.

He said all the members of the executive-legislative panel signed the proposal, except for Councilor Elmer Sy who said he has yet to check the figures. BREDCO representative Roseller Maalat said he will submit their counter proposal in their next meeting on Friday, Balo said.

Balo said the city used data from two financial reports as basis for computing the adjustment. One is the arrastre gross income of BREDCO in 2004 that is equivalent to P109 million a year, the figure secured from the PPA, and the other is BREDCO's income on wharfage which is P17.5 million a year, based on the minority report of the councilors who proposed the takeover of the cargo handling services only. He said the minority report was confirmed by the records collected by the city.

Balo said that if the income of BREDCO from arrastre (which covers the cargo handling services, porterage and the stevedoring service) and wharfage are added, BREDCO is earning about P126.5 million a year.

He said that since the city does not have the figures on warehousing, docking and reservation of vessels, and after consultations have been made with the PPA, it chose to add a maximum of 15 percent to the sum of the arrastre and wharfage to come up with the final proposal for the increase.

Balo said he also asked the PPA how much the city should charge for the port operations, if the port is being leased or rented and he was advised that it should not be less than 10 percent or more than 12 percent. "So I chose 12 percent of the total arrastre and wharfage," he said, in addition to the 15 percent, over and above the total of the arrastre and wharfage, he added.

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said that if both the city and the BREDCO panels can not agree on the amount of the increase, and there is a failure in the renegotiation, the city will pursue the option of takeover. He said the Sangguniang Panlungsod will prepare the guidelines for the takeover of the port operation and management.

"The city will make itself capable, I don't think it will an impossible job," Leonardia said, when asked if the city is capable of taking over the management and operations of the port." If other cities can do it, why can't Bacolod?" he asked.

Leonardia said he considers the P1 million annual rental to the city being proposed by BREDCO too small.*CGS

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