The city negotiating panel was asked to review its stand on the proposed increase in compensation for the management and operation of the Bacolod port by Bacolod Vice Mayor Renecito Novero yesterday.

The city is proposing the amount of P17.5 million from the present P800,000 annual rental of BREDCO, based on figures taken from the Philippine Ports Authority.

Novero, who is the lawyer of the BREDCO president, said the city should consider that the upward adjustment of the port rental of BREDCO to the city is every five years, so after five years the increase of P17.5 million is about P34 million. Do you think there will be a businessman who will stand to that? He asked.

Novero said the reason Councilor Elmer Sy did not sign the proposal of the city is that P17. 5 million is equivalent to 2,000 percent increase of the initial rental value of P800,000. Sy was advised by other businessmen that it is an unreasonable amount, he claimed.

BREDCO had proposed to the city an increase of P1 million a year, to be adjusted every five years.

Novero said the city should consider that BREDCO is paying to the PPA and that the city, even the national government has not spent a single centavo on the port project.

He did not clarify, however, if he was speaking as the vice mayor of Bacolod or as legal counsel of the BREDCO head.

Novero said the government has decided to privatize businesses like the Philippine Airlines, Manila Hotel, oil companies, etc., even local markets because he has observed that if a business is run by the government, it will not progress very well, he said.

Meanwhile, Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia had earlier, said that the city is waiting for the counter-proposal of BREDCO and hopes it will come up with something reasonable, logical and fair to both parties.

"Since this is a negotiation, we are still open to their proposals", he said. But whether we agree or not, the deadline for the negotiation is on March 6," Leonardia said.*CGS

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