Trinidad Wednesday told reporters that owners of these establishments have admitted to him that they are no longer earning as much as they used to from presenting stage shows that are restricted to adult audiences.
"Many of these establishments in fact close on Saturdays because they can no longer afford the overhead," Trinidad said, adding that "Saturdays have become family days for most of the clubs’ customers."
For the mayor, this comes as good news especially after he limited the establishment of nightclubs, videoke bars, and girlie bars to the Roxas Boulevard strip under his proposed Comprehensive Land Use Program (CLUP).
The CLUP, which Trinidad defines as his city’s "social-economic development constitution," is now on its final draft and is ready to be submitted to the city council for approval and implementation.
A local government’s CLUP is aimed at decongesting Metro Manila while maximizing the use of a city or municipality’s land for residential and commercial projects.
Trinidad said he would very much like to have an Eastwood City-type of recreational area in his city.
"The club owners should now be more creative. We will give them the sidewalks (for new ventures) and we could put up a promenade of sorts for them," he said. – Nikko Dizon