Bacolod plaza, government center rehab targets October finish

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority said it aims to complete the redevelopment of the Bacolod City Government Center and Heritage Plaza in three to four months.

Amelita Caganda, manager of TIEZA’s Construction Management Department, and a five-member technical team met Friday with Secretary to the Mayor Jose Marty Go, City Engineer Lobel Rafael Ceballos, and Office of the Building Official officer-in-charge Amy Tentia to provide updates on the projects.

The meeting followed Mayor Greg Gasataya’s recent remarks expressing concern over the delayed completion of the redevelopment projects.

In a recent media interview, Gasataya said he learned only two weeks ago that the BCGC project’s power supply installation was not included in TIEZA’s contract.

“I was furious when I learned about this recently. In the first place, they should have known already what the project needs,” he added.

Gasataya said TIEZA had suggested that the city use the existing power supply, but computations showed it was insufficient and could overload the system or cause serious electrical issues.

He said city officials were advised to submit a request because a budget could reportedly be allocated for Bacolod’s power supply needs.

“For them, there seems to be no sense of urgency. Ang ila ya basta maka project ang national, okay na (As long as the national project is moving forward, they think everything is fine),” the mayor said.

Gasataya said the issue prompted him to seek a dialogue with TIEZA.

“We cannot afford to just wait forever until this gets resolved,” Gasataya said, urging TIEZA to address the matter immediately.

During the meeting, Caganda said work on the pool area was ongoing, although minor structural adjustments had been identified and were being addressed.

Gasataya said only minimal work was needed for the plaza’s electrical requirements.

In her status report, Caganda said the installation of lighting fixtures at the plaza had been completed and electrical wiring work was underway.

She said panel boards had been installed in the control room, while the installation of fountain heads was ongoing.

Caganda said major components of the infrastructure projects had been installed and construction was progressing smoothly.

“Checking of the design lang po ng structural but nevertheless, smoothly ongoing naman po yung project. Actually, our target date is either September or October for the completion,” Caganda said.

Ceballos said several electrical requirements still had to be addressed by TIEZA to ensure the facilities would be fully operational upon completion.

The redevelopment of the BCGC and the plaza is a PHP 300 million tourism infrastructure project funded by TIEZA.

Of the total budget, PHP 80 million was allocated for plaza upgrades, including improvements to the fountain and other facilities, while PHP 220 million was set aside for renovations at the BCGC grounds.

The project’s first phase officially began in July 2025 and aims to transform two of Bacolod City’s most prominent public spaces through upgraded facilities, enhanced landscaping, modern lighting systems, water features, and other infrastructure improvements.

TIEZA, a government corporation created under the Tourism Act of 2009, serves as the Department of Tourism’s implementing arm for tourism infrastructure and tourism enterprise zone development nationwide.