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HomeLocal NewsKambyo Timplada: Did City Hall blink on Manokan Country standoff?

Kambyo Timplada: Did City Hall blink on Manokan Country standoff?

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BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – The forced eviction of stall renters at iconic eating spot Manokan Country will not push through tomorrow, 5 July 2024, as Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez is set to talk with some of them in the latest development to a running story that is turning out, some observers said, to be a litmus test for the city’s venture into private-public partnerships.

As tension simmers at the cultural icon being claimed by City Hall, lawyer Jose Max Ortiz told DNX the eviction will not happen tomorrow as Benitez will meet with some of his clients today.

As Ortiz confirmed the meet, tarpaulin stremers printed with demands of the vendors were also taken down today.

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The vendors renting at Manokan Country, a collection of stalls selling marinated chicken barbecue, are supposed to have transferred starting last month to temporary stalls at the SM City Bacolod just across the old site along Ferrero Street here.

The transfer is supposed to pave the way for the renovation of the old spot that was built decades ago when the original vendors at Cuadra Street fronting the public plaza were relocated to the Reclamation Area.

The renovation is the first public-private partnership to be implemented here under Benitez, a billionaire businessman with interests in gaming and entertainment before he entered politics.

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Ortiz hinted at the possibility that Benitez might grant the request of the vendors to set up their temporary stalls to an area close to the Bacolod City Government Center.

As this story goes to press, the meeting has yet to start.

It is not known if the vendors would push through with cbarges for graft and corruption before the Ombudsman againstst Benitez and city councilors who voted for the ordinance mandating the renovation.

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City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr, on the other hand, said he was not informed of any meeting to work out compromises but confirmed the forced evictions will proceed next week.

He did not give details, however.

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Cesar Jolito III
Cesar Jolito III
A reporter in training at DNX, an aviation mechanic and sports buff, Cesar Jolito III knows how to race his bike and is a certified foodie, too.
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