• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The stage is set for the first State of the City Address (SOCA) of Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez to be held at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) grounds today.
Benitez requested the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod last week to transfer their session from the Session Hall to the BCGC grounds for the SOCA scheduled at 5 p.m. Instead, the SP decided to hold their session at 10 a.m. today and will call for a recess before the mayor delivers his report.
City Administrator Pacifico Maghari lll has issued a directive to all department and office heads of the city to expedite and complete any pending transactions by 2:30 p.m. today or earlier, to provide their staff ample time to prepare the venue, manage any last-minute arrangements, as well as allow city employees to get ready to attend the SOCA.
Maghari also required all parking spaces within the compound of the BCGC to be left vacant in the morning in order to accommodate the needs of the guests attending the event.
They have also requested the owner of the Market Place to provide parking spaces in their area so that the parking spaces at the BCGC grounds can be used by guests who will be attending the SOCA today, he added. Meanwhile, the newly-renovated City Mayor’s Office at the BCGC with a budget cost of about P16 million is now fully operational.*
