• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
An ordinance declaring the third Sunday of October and the next three days thereafter, as the annual ‘Namit Guid’ MassKara Food Festival, was approved by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod on first reading yesterday.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Jason Isidro Villarosa, chair of the SP Committee on Tourism, said Bacolod City is famously known not only for the people’s genuine smiles and mellow voices, but also for the delicious cuisine it offers.
In line with the city’s initiative in promoting the best of Bacolod, a food festival ancillary to the annual MassKara Festival is ideal in primarily showcasing local Bacolodnon cuisine of all types and kinds, it said.
The proposed ordinance will be known as the “Namit Guid MassKara Food Festival Ordinance,” it said.
It also provides for the creation of the Namit Guid MassKara Food Festival Council that will implement and monitor the ordinance, which will be composed of the city mayor as chairperson, SP Committee on Tourism chair as vice-chairman, with members composed of the City Tourism Officer, General Services Officer, City Health Officer, City Treasurer, City Public Information Officer, City Legal Officer, Public Order and Safety Officer, and representatives from original Bacolod-born restaurants.
In view of the dynamic nature of Bacolodnon food, the venue of the festival will be subject to change on a yearly basis, upon the deliberation and discretion of the Namit Guid MassKara Food Festival Council, the ordinance said.
Necessary funds will be appropriated from the General Fund and other available funds of the city government for the implementation of the ordinance. Funds amounting to P1 million will be allocated annually by the city to defray expenses for the conduct of various activities during the celebration, it added.*
