PIA Press Release
Friday, January 13, 2012 Bacolod Chinatown is bornBACOLOD CITY, Jan. 13 (PIA6) -- Government officials and officials of the different Chinese groups and organizations in the city gathered at the Bacolod Government Center for the signing of a city ordinance creating the Bacolod City Chinatown Center. Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia signed City Ordinance No. 576 as witnessed by the members of the Sanggunian and the officers of the Filipino-Chinese community. Present in the simple ceremony were Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson and Councilors Elcid Familiaran, Bobby Rojas, Dindo Ramos and Em Ang, City Planning and Development Officer Lemuel Reynaldo, Bacolod City Police Office Director PSSupt Ricardo De La Paz and City Tourism Officer Imogene Kana-an. The Chinese community was represented by Bacolaodiat Incorporated President Leonito Lopue, Vice Chairman Crispin Chua, Directors Terry Gochangco and Lily Go, 88 mall owner William Ong, Bacolod Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Incorporated President Atty. Ben Ortega, Southern Negros Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Incorporated President John Yap, Directors Johnny Yap and Philip Yap and Amity Fire Brigade’s Enrique Dy. The city ordinance creates the Bacolod City Chinatown Center out of the Shopping Center, a commercial district established for the Chinese, which became a prominent commercial center in the early days but lost its luster to other business centers rising around the city. The ordinance is to revive the area into a prosperous commercial center run and operated by the Filipino-Chinese. The revival of the Bacolod Chinatown shall be undertaken by way of a public-private partnership. Under the ordinance, the Filipino-Chinese investors are encouraged to finance the redevelopment of Shopping Center into a prosperous Chinatown Center with 70 percent of these advances shall be returned to them in form of tax credits. The Bacolod City Chinatown Development Council headed by the City Mayor as Chairman and the Vice Mayor as Vice Chairman shall administer the upgrading of the area. The Bacolod City Chinatown Development Council was convened after the ordinance was signed. During its organizational meeting, the Council created several committees like the Master Plan Committee, the Incentives, Trade and Industry Committee, the Infrastructure Committee, the Security and Traffic Committee and the Public Relations Committee. The Council decided to hold its regular meeting every second Tuesday of the month. (JCM/EAD-PIA6/CMO Negros Occidental) | 
