BACOLOD CITY — A total of 23,177 business establishments have been registered in this city from January to the last week of December in 2018, records of the City Mayor’s Office-Permits and Licensing Division showed.
The summary report, which covered registration until Dec. 27, 2018, was submitted by licensing officer Stela Rose Rayos to Mayor Evelio Leonardia.

This is 5.33 percent higher than the 22,004 establishments registered in the entire 2017, Rayos said.
The increase does not necessarily indicate only newly-opened businesses for 2018 since it also included renewals by establishments that were unable to register in previous years.
This year, the opening of the Ayala Malls Capitol Central in December largely contributed to the business registration in the city since each mall tenant was required to register, Rayos said.
Since 2012, records show that Bacolod has posted a steady increase in business registration.
The total number of business permits issued in 2012 was 18,959; 2013 (18,457); 2014 (18,606); 2015 (18,817); and 2016 (19,021).
In 2017, the City Mayor’s Office issued 22,004 business permits, 15.68 percent higher than the 19,021 approved in 2016.
Rayos said the setting up of the Business One-Stop-Shop has helped business owners fast-track the processing of their permits, allowing them to save time and money. For 2019, the operations will start on January 3.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia has said the setting up of the one-stop shop operations is part of his vision to make Bacolod very business-friendly.
“We wish to see that business confidence is restored and a climate conducive for business and industry to grow and prosper, is established,” Leonardia said. (PNA)
Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1057583

BACOLOD CITY — The City of Bacolod marked its 80th birthday as a chartered city in 2018 — a year of milestones and triumphs for its people.
From reaping awards to celebrating the world-renowned MassKara Festival graced by President Rodrigo Duterte for the third time, to seeing the rise of major real estate developments, to achieving a lower crime rate, it has indeed been a banner year for Bacolod.

Awards
The year 2018 has been the winningest year for the City of Smiles so far after being recognized for its achievements by various award-giving bodies.
In November, Mayor Evelio Leonardia received two top recognitions from the Asia Leaders Awards 2018.
Leonardia, who was the lone local government official nominee and awardee, was bestowed both the Lifetime Excellence Award for city governance, and the Mentor of the Year Award, while the City of Bacolod was also a finalist in the Tourism Company of the Year Award.
In December, Bacolod was first runner-up in the Excellence in Administrative Governance in the Department of the Interior and Local Government 6 (Western Visayas) Regional Search for Excellence in Local Governance.
A month earlier, Bacolod was recognized as the Most Competitive City in Western Visayas by the Regional Development Council.
In October, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry gave Bacolod a Special Citation for the Most Business-Friendly Local Government Unit Awards under the City Level 1 category.
In August, Bacolod was awarded the eighth Most Competitive Highly Urbanized City in the Philippines, and third Most Improved Highly Urbanized City in the Philippines at the 6th Competitive Summit and Awards of the National Competitiveness Council.
In June, Bacolod was awarded first runner-up in The Manila Times’ Search for the Philippine Model Cities and Municipalities 2018.
80th year milestones
Bacolod highlighted the 39th MassKara Festival in October with the celebration of its 80th year as a chartered city.
Themed “Happy Birthday, Bacolod”, the 21-day festivities were capped by the arrival of Duterte, who graced the MassKara for the third consecutive time since he became Chief Executive in 2016.
Leonardia described the event as a “MassKara for the books,” with the biggest crowd ever, topped by the presence of the President and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte.
While the festival was ongoing, the MassKara dancers won the bronze medal at the World Mask Dance Competition 2018 in Andong City, South Korea on October 7.
In the first week of December, the Malacañang Records Office informed the mayor that Duterte had signed Republic Act (RA) No. 11146 declaring June 18, 1938 as the day Bacolod was created.
The new law corrected RA 7724 that initially set October 19 as the date for the celebration of the Bacolod City Charter Day. Starting next year, Bacolod will mark its Charter Day every June 18 as a special non-working holiday.
Leonardia thanked Duterte “for being instrumental in correcting the history of Bacolod.”
“The President will now be part and parcel of the history books of Bacolod City. This is one of the highlights of the 80th year celebration of Bacolod. History is now in its proper place,” the mayor added.
Among the other important events in Bacolod’s 80th year were the unveiling of the Bacolod Welcome Marker, Bacolod Historical Mural @ 80, and the unveiling of the architectural design for the PHP163-million “green” museum-auditorium design.
The Bacolod Welcome Marker, a 7.2-meter structure with colorful masks lighted up at night, is located at the boundary of the cities of Bacolod and Talisay. Inaugurated on November 26, the landmark, poised to become one of Bacolod’s tourism icons, was an idea of
Leonardia executed by Megaworld Corp. on a portion of its 53-hectare township development in the area.
On November 27 to 29, Bacolod also hosted the 2018 MICE (Meetings, Incentive Travel, Convention, Exhibitions and Events) Conference or MICECON at SMX Convention Center and Resorts Negrense.
The three-day event gathered about 500 travel and tourism practitioners from airlines, hotels, resorts events and conventions industries across the Philippines along with those from the local government units and the organizers from the Tourism Promotions Board, Department of Tourism, and Bacolod Organizing Committee.
In October, the city government also unveiled the painted walls of the Bacolod Cemetery on Burgos Extension Road dubbed the “Bacolod Historical Mural @ 80”, which gives people a glimpse of the city’s history in the past decades of its existence.
Also in October, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, who is facilitating the funding for two-structure “green” museum-auditorium, said the construction is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2019 and is expected to be completed in about two years.
In August, Leonardia awarded the first-ever Bacolod Halandumon Award to the heirs of Don Fernando and Doña Angela Gonzaga, who donated the property occupied by the Bacolod City Government Center that marked its 10th year.
Leonardia, who led the August 8 celebration dubbed “10 years of Fame and Glory” held at the Government Center’s MassKara Hall, said the structure has become “iconic” and has changed the face of Bacolod.
Major real estate developments
The year saw the rise of massive real estate developments in Bacolod, the latest of which was the PHP5.2-million Ayala Malls Capitol Central that opened on December 14.
The seven-level commercial establishment is the second mall development of Ayala Land, Inc.’s real estate subsidiary in Negros Occidental after The District North Point in neighboring Talisay City.
Capitol Central, located along Gatuslao St. behind the Provincial Capitol building, is the second largest Ayala Malls development in the Visayas and Mindanao.
The PHP5.2-billion project cost includes PHP5 billion for mall development and PHP200 million for an integrated business processing outsourcing facility.
Towards the end of July, property giant Megaworld announced the roll-out this year of its PHP28-billion The Upper East development in this city.
The masterplan for the 34-hectare township project, to be developed in the next 10 years, includes residential condominiums, shopping malls and commercial centers, mixed-use buildings, office towers, and hotels with facilities, including a transport hub, church, green and open parks and a central plaza.
The Upper East, situated a few blocks from the Bacolod City Government Center in the eastern side of the city, will be the first masterplanned mixed-use community in Bacolod that integrates the live-work-play components of an integrated urban township.
In April, listed property firm Cebu Landmasters, Inc. also announced it was rolling out three projects – a condominium, a hotel, and a residential subdivision worth PHP5 billion in Bacolod in the next five years.
Meanwhile, the construction of the three-tower MesaVirre Garden Residences located along Lacson St. in Barangay Bata is ongoing. In front of the condominium complex will rise a 200-room hotel by Citadines, a brand of Ascott Limited, an international serviced residence owner-operator.
The third project is a 15-hectare housing development in Barangay Granada.
Lower crime rate
The murder of a lawyer and a village chief and the attempt on the life of a city councilor marred the otherwise generally peaceful environment in the city in 2018.
However, police records showed a consistent decrease in the crime volume of Bacolod in the past 11 months this year.
In the first week of December, the Bacolod City Police Office reported a 23.32-percent decrease in crime volume from January to November this year.
Records showed a reduction of 793 crime incidents — from 3,400 in January to November 2017 to only 2,607 in the same period this year.
Index crimes, or crimes against persons and properties, dropped to 624, or by 44.88 percent — from 1,132 in the first 11 months last year. These comprise the eight focus crimes — murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, robbery, theft, car and motorcycle theft — which all decreased from January to November this year.
Senior Supt. Francisco Ebreo, acting city police director, said the aim has always been to reduce the crime volume in Bacolod, especially the eight focus crimes that indicate the actual peace and order situation of a particular area. (PNA)
Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1056949