Megaworld has given the Araneta Group of Companies until August 30 to clear the 34-hectare property in Barangay 41, Bacolod City of informal settlers so it could start the initial development of the area. Executives of Megaworld met with Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and representatives of the Araneta Group yesterday at the Bacolod City Government Center to discuss the concerns of Barangay 41 residents in the property. Harold Geronimo, Megaworld assistant vice president for Public Relations and External Affairs, yesterday said they are giving the Araneta Group a deadline to clear the area in compliance with their agreement. He said there are many Business Process Outsourcing companies who want to expedite the development because they really want to relocate to Bacolod City. And a lot of them are first time locators to Bacolod. Under their portfolio, there are about 130 companies that are already leasing with them. If they bring in 20 companies that will already be big for Bacolod which could generate a lot of employment, he added. Geronimo said that the entire development is not a joint venture with the Araneta group since they bought the 34-hectare property from them and that they have agreed that once the land is turned over to them, it should be clean, meaning everything should be settled. He also pointed out that it should be the Araneta family to settle the issue with the informal settlers and not Megaworld. Geronimo said they need to build the roads inside the township by September 1. They can't start development if there are informal settlers entering the property. They are appreciative of Mayor Evelio Leonardia's effort to find a solution to this issue. He will mediate talks between the barangay officials and affected residents, he said. Geronimo said Megaworld is looking forward to really start the Upper East development which will bring in initially about 5,000 to 6,000 jobs on the first phase of the BPO company, So this will be able to generate a lot of employment for Bacolod once they complete the first three BPO towers which will be state-of-the-art modern office buildings, he said. Included in their township development are residential condominiums, hotels, mall and retail developments, open parks, and tourism and recreational facilities in the 34-hectare property. They are building wide state-of-the-art road networks inside the township to help ease the traffic in Bacolod, Geronimo said. They are already pressuring the Araneta Group because they need a clean development and want them to comply with the agreement so they can already start the development, he said. Geronimo said the residents were given enough time by the Araneta Group and the barangay captain even signed a waiver. They want the Araneta Group to already enclose the property that is rightfully their because they have already paid for it, he said. A township can be completed in a period of about five to seven years and 10 years is usually the minimum number of years for a township to mature, he added. Geronimo said they want the Upper East to become the next central district of Bacolod to which the mayor, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and Councilor Caesar Distrito agreed. They will retain all the trees especially the centuries old trees inside the property because they believe this is a major feature of the development. They are very concerned about the environment and the historical value of the entire property, he added. Leonardia recalled that they had a long talk with Geronimo five or six years ago, when Megaworld was just planning to invest. And this time the investment is real. They had initial talks with the informal settlers and plan to bring them together this week because Megaworld believes there is an urgency and they don't want the project delayed. According to them this eventually will mean 250,000 jobs directly or indirectly, he said. “These are call centers raring to locate in Bacolod because we have made a name already. We started with zero in 2016, we're within the top three,” he said. Before he left as mayor in 2013, Bacolod was elevated into a center of excellence and he believes it is a plus factor that will draw investors to Bacolod, he added. Leonardia said they will consider the side of the business and employment opportunities that are being laid down by Megaworld and on the other side, the human consideration that there are people whose convenience could be affected. “I think the role here of the city is to reconcile and come up with a win-win solution,” he said. Leonardia said they had proven that Bacolod is conducive, and is a fertile ground for call centers and he believes they have to cash in on that momentum. Also present during the meeting were Carla Uykim, Megaworld vice president for Corporate Advisory Compliance, and Richard Minerva and Felix Manuel Trebol of The Araneta Group- Visayas.*CGS Visayan Daily Star BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO
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