Bacolod City – An ordinance permanently fixing every second week of October as MassKara Festival in Panaad Park, was approved by the Bacolod Sangginiang Panlungsod on first reading yesterday.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Jason Isidro Villarosa said the Panaad Park and Stadium in Brgy. Mansilingan, Bacolod City has been the venue of the “Panaad sa Negros Festival” yearly celebrated every month of April and participated in by 13 cities and 19 municipalities in Negros Occidental.
It said the City of Bacolod celebrates its own MassKara Festival and designates every fourth Sunday of October as the highlight as per City Ordinance No. 09-17-820.
The initiative to fix a yearly celebration in Panaad Park within the month of October, and more particularly every second week of the said month, will pave the way to a collective participation of the cities and towns of Negros Occidental, which will ultimately redound to the benefit of the respective local governments in the promotion of their tourism, craftsmanship, creativity, talents, products, and services, the ordinance said.
The MassKara sa Panaad will be the subject of implementation, monitoring and maintenance by the following departments and offices: City Tourism Office, Public Order Service Office, General Services Office, City Planning and Development Office, SP Committee in Tourism chairman, Business Permits and Licensing Division, and the Negros Occidental Tourism Division, it said.
The ordinance will require an annual funding of at least ₱ 500,000, subject to increase, and will be funded from any available fund of Bacolod City, it added. (Chrysee Semillano via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)