Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said the Bacolod City government still has funds for the implementation of his eight-point agenda projects in his first 100 days in office.
The 2022 Bacolod budget is not depleted, the P78,445,475 or 22 percent left for the City Mayor’s Office is for the general services of job order workers and casuals, he said on Wednesday, July 6.
They are in the process of determining how many job order workers are needed, he said.
The rest of the budget is still there so they can still push their programs, Benitez said.
They were able to find the funds for his eight-point agenda, he assured.
HEALTH PROGRAM
Benitez said they are just waiting for the final provisions of the agreement between the city government and the private hospitals to kick off the Bacolod Comprehensive Health Care Program.
There is a technical working group threshing out the details of the agreement, as soon as they are ready it will be sent to the Sangguniang Panlungsod for discussion, he said.
GARBAGE
Benitez said he will meet with the vendors of the city markets to discuss setting up a system for the disposal of waste.
The vendors also have to help clean their own backyards, not just the street cleaners and the garbage collectors, he said.
They cannot just throw their garbage anywhere, cluster areas will have to be created where garbage can be picked up, he said.
Benitez said he also met with the representatives of the firm collecting the city’s garbage, IPM-Construction and Development Corp., which contract ends in December.
They told him that their contract is to collect 33,000 tons garbage, but the city’s waste has reached about 59,000 tons, the mayor said.
There is a need to find ways to reduce the city’s waste through segregation, Benitez said.
Recyclable waste such as plastics can be segregated and sold, he said.
Waste from the markets can also be turned into fertilizer for farmers, he added.
MASSKARA
Benitez said the city government is aiming to make the 2022 MassKara Festival the event of the year or the decade.
They are targeting 200,000 tourists, he said.
Preparations for the festival chaired by Pinky Mirano Ocampo are underway and a presentation will be made to the Sangguniang Panlungsod, he added.
Meanwhile, the Bacolod Bids and Awards Committee will be headed by Jean Ramos, Benitez said.*