"It's business as usual between the Bacolod Real Estate and Development Corp. and the Bacolod City government."

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia Friday said the renegotiation between BREDCO and the city will continue even if he is away and Secretary to the Mayor Roger Balo, as vice chairman of the negotiating panel, will conduct the meetings.

Leonardia left Saturday for the United States to address the Negrenses of America and the Bacolod Society of America Sunday and Tuesday, and will meet with Mayor Beverly O'Neal and the Investment Council of Long Beach City later in the week.

The mayor will proceed to Las Vegas to witness the rematch between Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao and Mexican Erik Morales scheduled in Las Vegas, Nevada Jan. 21, before coming home. Leonardia has designated Vice Mayor Renecito as acting mayor for 10 days.

Leonardia said he has been invited to the match personally by Pacquiao and the city is not funding his trip. He said the group of Pacquiao promised to help him with his accommodations and provide him a ringside ticket for the fight.

Leonardia ordered the live showing of the Pacquiao-Morales rematch, that will be fed by Skycable, at the City Hall grounds and at the three major markets in Bacolod on Jan. 22.

The mayor believes that rallying Bacoleños behind a cause such as supporting Pacquiao, an adopted son of Bacolod, is a unifying factor for the people.

Meanwhile, Leonardia said his friends in Los Angeles, California told him that Long Beach has helped a lot of other sister-cities with items like hospital beds and firetrucks.

He said he wants to show the Long Beach officials the potentials of Bacolod and inform them of the coming in of a U.S.-based call center to the city, which indicate that the status of Bacolod as a city is in the level of Cebu, Davao and Manila.

"If they see that SM City is putting up an P870 million worth of investment in the city, that would also make them think there is so much potential in Bacolod," Leonardia said.

He said he will also inform the Long Beach officials that the city is on the verge of implementing major projects that will definitely improve its economic climate.*CGS

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