BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The possibility of making Talisay the new capital city of Negros Occidental is not an issue for now to Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson.
“We’re just focusing on the site and take advantage of that big property that we have now in Talisay,” Lacson, who confirmed plans to relocate the seat of the provincial government and its offices to the 25-hectare property it purchased in Talisay City, said.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz earlier said that, under the Local Government Code, the provincial government of Negros Occidental has the “autonomy” to transfer its capital.
It only takes a three-fourths vote of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to transfer the capitol, the seat of power of the provincial government, Diaz said.
Lacson said the vacated site of the Provincial Administration Center (PAC) next to a commercial building to be constructed by Dynamic Builders, will become another commercial space.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental was supposed to construct the new PAC, with a budget of P900 million, at Aguinaldo Street in Bacolod, in front of the National Bureau of Investigation building.
Since the present site of PAC is already congested, and realizing the potential of the 25-hectare property as a “growth center” prompted the provincial government to study the possibility of relocating the Capitol offices.
Lacson also said they will construct a separate building for the legislative branch of the provincial government, aside from the new PAC that will house its various offices and the Governor’s office. He added that the present Capitol building will be maintained for use in official functions.*
