Robinson's Bacolod will expand soon!

RLC expanding mall in Bacolod
By JAMES A. LOYOLA
July 20, 2010, 5:03pm

Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) is expanding its Robinsons Place Bacolod, the first full-service mall in Bacolod 14 years ago, to add the first park-like lifestyle center in Negros.
“Robinsons Place Bacolod remains as one of the most lucrative and successful mall in the region and this expansion is meant to ensure that it remains that way by keeping pace with the growth and changes in the community,” said RLC vice president for lease Lourdes T. Alano.

The expansion program will add over 6,000 square meters to the shopping center’s existing gross floor area of 48,500 sqm. with the construction of a new one-level shopping and dining destination.

Alano said construction is expected to be completed by early next year and the new area will be fully operational by the second quarter of 2011.

Currently, Robinsons Place Bacolod is highly patronized by locals residing in Bacolod City and nearby towns and cities. It houses over 90 tenants, who have been operating inside the mall for over 10 years.

The Bacolod mall recently underwent renovation which included mall improvements, food court redevelopment, expansion of Robinsons Appliances and Robinsons Handyman and opening of a Toys R' Us branch.

Alano said the expansion will allow the mall to open its doors to more business opportunities and to give more shopping and dining options to its growing market base.

The expansion is basically aimed to strengthen the current customer base being served by Robinsons by offering more choices that are not catered to by the existing mall.

Alano said the new area will have a park-like setup with lighted pathways surrounded by well-landscaped gardens with five clusters of commercial spaces consisting of lifestyle stores and mid-to-high-end alfresco restaurants.

“Currently we are receiving a lot of tenant inquiries from local entrepreneurs and other national retailers,” added Alano.

The first cluster will be an expansion of the Robinsons Department Store; the second and fourth clusters will feature fashion boutiques, amusement outlets and specialty foods restaurants; the third cluster will have more restaurants and specialty services; while the fifth cluster will feature various lifestyle options.

Aside from alfresco dining, unique features in the expanded mall will include an outdoor activity area that will serve as venue for concerts and events, as well as a Blue Water Plaza featuring water jets that will allow visitors to frolic in the water.

“For Robinsons Place Bacolod to stay ahead of its game, it will be growing with the community. It is part of Robinsons Land’s commitment, to be with the community in this period of growth,” said Alano.

Mayor Bing as VP of LCP

Leonardia Elected Executive Vice President of the League of Cities of the Philippines
Bacolod City Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia was elected Saturday as new Executive Vice President of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) at the Century Park Hotel in Manila.

During the LCP’s 57th General Assembly, attended by DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo, mayors coming from all over the country also elected San Fernando City Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri, and Calapan City Mayor Paulino Leachon as President, Chairman, and Vice Chairman respectively.

Leonardia is the only non-Liberal and the only mayor outside of Luzon who secured one of the top four key positions of the LCP. Leonardia is a member of the Nationalist Peoples Coalition.

Talisay City Mayor Eric Saratan was chosen as Regional Representative for Region 6.
The newly-elected officers will be sworn into office by no less than President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III in Malacañang Palace today (July 19th).

During his four terms as mayor, Leonardia has consistently held national positions in the LCP: in 1995-Vice President for Visayas, in 2004-Deputy Secretary General for Visayas, and in 2007-National Vice Chairman.

He considers his election as Executive Vice President of LCP as sentimental as he also held the same position with the Vice Mayors League of the Philippines National Board in 1994.

“I am very grateful to my fellow city mayors in the country for their trust and confidence,” quipped Mayor Leonardia, who also express “my special thanks to Negros Occidental Governor Freddie Marañon, former Governor Isidro Zayzo, who is now the Kabankalan City Mayor, and to all the mayors of the province for giving me their unswerving and all-out support.”

Other elected officers of the LCP are Vice President for Luzon-Allen Singson (Candoni), Vice President for Visayas-Dan Lim (Tagbilaran), Vice President for Mindano-Samuel Co (Pagadian), and Vice President for National Capital Region-Sherwin Gatchalian (Valenzuela).

Hernani Braganza (Alaminos) is the Secretary General with Benjamin Lim (Dagupan) as Treasurer, Abraham Tolentino (Tagaytay) as Auditor, and Eduardo Pamintuan (Angeles) as PRO.

Aside from Sarratan, the other Regional Representatives are for Region 1-Michael Farinas (Laoag), Region 2-Amelita Navaro (Santiago), Region 3-Romeo Capinpin (Palayan), Region 4-A-Joaquin Chipeco (Calamba), Region 4-B-Edward Hagedorn (Puerto Princesa), Region 5-Linda Gonzales (Ligao), Region 7-Karen Villanueva (Bais), Region 8-Reynaldo Uy (Calbayog), Region 9-Evelyn Uy (Dipolog), Region 10-Lawrenze Cruz (Iligan), Region 11-Rey Uy (Tagum), Region 12-Darlene Antonio Custodio (General Santos), NCR-Florencio Bernabe Jr. (Parañaque), Cordillera Administrative Region -Mauricio Domogan (Baguio), Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao-Fahada Panarigan (Salic), and Caraga Region-Ferdinand Amante Jr. (Butuan).

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BACOLOD WINS RESPONSIVENESS OF AN LGU AWARD

BACOLOD WINS RESPONSIVENESS OF AN LGU AWARD
By Edith B. Colmo

Another national recognition was bestowed upon Bacolod City, the third of many blessings this week to the city administration.

First was the city having been chosen as pilot city for a European Union Project, followed by the election of Mayor Evelio Leonardia as executive vice president of the League of Cities of the Philippines.

The latest was the Best Compliance Award from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), growth center category, as Best Compliance with Government Mandated Plans on responsiveness by local government units, in line with the 2009 Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project.

AIM gave the award in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and German Technical Cooperation (GTC).

The awarding ceremony was held at the SMX Convention Center, Manila, Monday. Mayor Evelio Leonardia and City Administrator Rogelio Balo received the award. The city was recognized for its outstanding performance in the competitiveness ranking project as among the growth centers in the country.

Leonardia said, Bacolod having been categorized as a new growth center is another validation that indeed, Bacolod is growing fast and surging ahead.

Bacolod is among other cities in the country categorized as new growth centers in the country - Baguio, Olongapo, Batangas, Iloilo, Mandaue, Lapu-lapu, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and General Santos.

The evaluation of the 29 selected cities established three new categories namely, emergent cities, growth centers and metropolitan growth centers. In the new classification, assessment was based on a scientifically supportable distinction of the characteristics of a city.

Factor taken into account is the ability of the city to generate local income against its population.

In the presentation of the new categories of cities, it was concluded that Growth Centers including Bacolod City has higher per capita income than emergent cities and metro growth centers.

Metropolitan centers included the cities of Cebu and Davao while emergent cities are Dagupan, San Fernando, Santiago, Tuguegarao, Angeles, Lucena, Puerto Princesa, Naga, Legaspi, Tacloban, Or-moc, Pagadian, Iligan, Tagum, Cotabato, Butuan and Suri-gao.

The awards were presented by Dr. Edilberto de Jesus, AIM president; Prof. Ma. Lourdes Sereno AIM Policy Center executive director; Dr. Volker Steigerward, GTZ program manager; and Dr. Ana Maria Tabunda, 2009 PCCRP consultant and chief research Fellow Pulse Asia, Inc.

Guest speaker at the awarding ceremony was Undersec-retary Austere Panadero of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

In 2005, AIM has also recognized Bacolod as Most Competitive Mid-size City in the country.

Since the start of Leonardia administration in 2004, Bacolod has been recipient of numerous local and national recognitions from the national government and private institutions.

Other national awards of the city include, Business Friendly City, Best Place to Live in the Country by Money Sense Magazine;

Best Tourism Oriented LGU, and Best Performing City in Economic Development, Most Child Friendly City, Most Disabled Friendly City, finalist in the Best City Peace and Order Council, and Best City Disaster Risk Management among many others.

Early this month, Bacolod was rose to the top three spots as Top 10 Next Wave Cities for Best BPO Locations in the Country.* EBC