By ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
“CLOSE, OPEN” is now a popular byword in Bacolod City, in addition to the city’s moniker, “City of Smiles”.
It refers to the much-talked case of the iconic 41-year-old Manokan Country on Fr. Mauricio Ferrero Street, Reclamation Area in Barangay 12.
On Tuesday, July 16, a team from the City Legal Office (CLO) closed down Manokan Country to give way to the P4-billion redevelopment project in the area.
The closure left 24 protesting Manokan tenants in a quandary.
News about Manokan’s closure went viral online, reaping condemnation across the globe against the city government and Mayor Albee for not treasuring the city’s perceived cultural heritage.
The following day, July 17, the mayor opened Manokan Country, but only on temporarily for one month until the tenants can settle in their interim stalls at the SM City-Bacolod Transport Hub just across.
The tenants already agreed to transfer to a temporary location while the redevelopment is ongoing.
They will be prioritized for the redeveloped Manokan Country once this is completed within the giant commercial building to be constructed at the 16,875-square meter city-owned lot.
‘Super offers’
I talked to Atty. Joemax Ortiz, acting as counsel for the aggrieved Manokan Country tenants.
Ortiz said there were “super offers” that came late. These included:
* Unpaid monthly rental by his clients will be payable for the next two years.
* Surcharges or interest for their unpaid rentals shall be condoned.
* His clients will be given a two-year relief from paying rental fee starting in August while they are doing business at SM City-Bacolod Transport Hub.
Question: Why did these “super offers” come only after the Manokan Country closure?
Where did the pressure come?
‘Super waffling’
To close and to open again the Manokan Country was a clear manifestation that the present administration seems to be waffling; that it is unsure on what to do with the tenants before ordering the closure of the popular business hub established through City Ordinance No.16-1983 during the time of the late Mayor Jose Montalvo Jr.
The “inaccuracy” in laying down an exact plan for distressed Manokan tenants after inking a P4-billion 40-year contract with SM Prime Holdings, Inc. was really spotted by the world.
Netizens are bombarding the city government with comments. Waffling is always “bad” for any government official. It is tantamount to a “toothless leadership”.
“And God always gives nuts to toothless people,” per Matt Groening, an American cartoonist known for his obra maestra, The Simpsons.
‘Super delay’
Councilor Celia Flor held a dialogue with the tenants just hours after the Manokan Country was closed on Tuesday.
Flor is the chair of the committee on markets and slaughterhouses at the city council. She’s a known feisty “fighter for women’s causes”. Is her committee assignment misplaced?
Talking to the Manokan tenants and asking their sentiments and suggestion after the closure order took effect was “super delayed”, too late. And what were her committee’s suggested solutions submitted to the mayor?
“Close, open” is a classic play for infants or toddlers only, not for intellectual adults. Firmness is always the key in governance or public service. Don’t flip-flop. It’s bad for a government leadership!
American reproductive right activist Faye Wattleton once stressed: “The only safe ship in a storm is leadership.”/PN
