• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Bacolod market vendors and Manokan Country stall renters with unpaid rentals may soon avail of a one-time amnesty on surcharges and interest, provided they execute a sworn undertaking to settle their obligations within an agreed timeframe.
This after the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod approved on third and final reading June 10 the proposed ordinance on the surcharge amnesty and transitional framework for the re-award of stalls in the Libertad, Burgos, and Central public markets, as well as the Manokan Country stalls.
Qualified to avail of the amnesty are occupants with expired or unrenewed lease contracts; not the original awardees but are in actual operation of the stall; occupants with accumulated rental arrears due to non-payment or delinquency; and those who committed technical violations under the Market Code, provided that they voluntarily submit to the conditions of the ordinance, including the undertaking to pay rental arrears.
Included in the sworn undertaking are the vendor’s commitment to assume full liability for all unpaid rental principal, and to pay the principal within 90 days, or under a city-approved payment schedule not exceeding 12 months, the ordinance states. | CGC
