• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO

About 18 flower vendors along Fr. M. Ferrero Street in Barangay 12, Bacolod City, may again face possible relocation if the area they are occupying will be reclassified to a commercial lot.
The 18 stall owners were once occupying a portion of the Bacolod City Public Plaza before they were relocated to Fr. Ferrero Street at the Reclamation Area in Brgy. 12 (behind the BAYS Center).
The city government will explore possible relocation sites for them, should the City Council grant the petition of SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SPHI) to reclassify the dead-end section of the street from a road lot to a commercial lot.
SPHI has already leased 16,875 square meters of city government land opposite SM City Bacolod, which includes the Manokan Country, as part of a broader redevelopment initiative.
City Legal Officer Romeo Carlo Ting, Jr., said the lease agreement includes provisions for SPHI to annex the road lot and compensate the city should the area be reclassified as commercial.*