‘Squatters’ hamper Bacolod buildup

Bacolod is having its share of problems in its buildup for the 23rd Southeast Asian Games with tenants of eight commercial establishments occupying major portions of the main grandstand of the Paglaum Sports Complex stalling the completion of work in the area.

The Bacolod SEA Games Organizing Committee said its primary concern at the moment is how to get rid of these commercial tenants who have not paid rent for about two decades now, according to Basoc secretary-general Eric Loretizo.

Construction works at the venue are about to be completed but the workers couldn’t finish the job with the presence of some eight business stalls in the grandstand.

The Basoc, headed by Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella, said it couldn’t evict these tenants in the absence of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Paglaum operator DepEd-Negros Occidental with a little over two months to go before the actual staging of the games.

Basoc and DepEd have yet to reach an agreement on who would maintain and manage the sports complex after the SEAG, which is the reason why the venue has been rehabilitated. Paglaum is one of two venues for men’s football.

"The DepEd wants to take full control 15 days after the games. But Congressman Puentevella’s concern is how to protect the investment of the government considering the track record of DepEd," said Loretizo.

"The complex has deteriorated for the past two decades under the DepEd," Loretizo added.

Puentevella wants to transfer control of Paglaum to a special board composed of members of the Mayor’s Office, Representative’s Office, the DepEd and Negros Occidental High school alumni.

The spaces being occupied by the business stalls are being eyed by the Basoc for the media center, doping room, medical clinic and conference room.

"Jobs in the field have been done. We have put up a new drainage replacing the old one, which has collapsed. We could have started re-painting in the grandstand, but the tenants haven’t moved out," said Loretizo.

"We want to get rid of these tenants because they’re encroaching on the property and could become security problem during the games," Loretizo added.

Basoc officials, however, stressed everything’s going on smoothly except this problem. Puentevella earlier briefed Vice-President Noli de Castro on their SEAG preparation as they met at the national convention of real estate developers in Bacolod yesterday.