ESPLANADE OPENING. (From left) Assistant District Engineer Leah Jamero, Bacolod District Engineer Abraham Villareal, City Police Director Col. Henry Biñas, Councilor Em Ang, Mayor Evelio Leonardia, and Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya during the inauguration of the Bacolod City Esplanade beside the Bacolod City Government Center on Monday night (June 17, 2019). The esplanade will serve as protection of the riverbanks from possible erosion and a good venue for recreation, social and fitness activities of Bacolod residents and tourists. (Photo courtesy of Bacolod City PIO)
BACOLOD CITY -- The Bacolod City Esplanade, located beside the Government Center, has been opened to the public on Monday night.
The PHP37.2-million concrete structure, implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), is part of the construction of the 440-lineal meter revetment wall with flood wall, including improvement of riverbanks, along the Lupit River.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who led the switch-on ceremony with Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya and District Engineer Abraham Villareal, said Bacolod has reached another level having such kind of a structure for its people.
“Not every city has an esplanade,” he said.
Leonardia added that with the opening of the esplanade, the space at the Government Center has been extended and he encouraged Bacolodnons, who frequent the area to also bring their activities to the new venue.
The mayor said the city government needs to make the esplanade inviting, which means that public safety should be ensured first and foremost.
According to the DPWH, the esplanade will serve as protection of the riverbanks from possible erosion and a good venue for recreation, social and fitness activities of Bacolod residents and tourists.
Earlier, Leonardia sent a letter to Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran requesting the City Council to pass an ordinance with the intent to make the esplanade free from vendors to maintain peace and order.
The mayor told Familiaran that he and Gasataya met with Ma. Regina Piccio, president of Fernando F. Gonzaga Inc., whose family donated the property for the Bacolod City Government Center. Piccio expressed concern over the possible proliferation of vendors in the esplanade and suggested that an ordinance be passed regulating the activities in the area.
Leonardia noted that while the city is thankful to Gasataya for initiating the construction of the esplanade, he also considers Piccio’s request valid since the esplanade shall definitely become a “landmark and a tourist attraction of the city.”
The proposed ordinance shall regulate the activities at the esplanade, including the construction of permanent and or temporary structures intended for vending, the mayor said. (PNA)
