MABALACAT CITY – The city government has entered into another 10-year contract for the operation of the Mabalacat City Bus Terminal (MCBT) in its bid to boost economic development and decongest traffic.
On August 18 Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales signed a 10-year joint venture agreement (JVA) with the Castro-Samson Realty (C-SR) which owns the 8,000-square meter lot where the MCBT is currently located.
The city government’s old JVA contract with the Baron-Castro family has expired prompting the city council to authorize the executive department to seek another JVA deal with the lot owners.
Vice Mayor Christian Halili said they have initially given an “authority to negotiate” to the executive department to give the Baron family an opportunity for a dialogue.
But Halili said after the period for negotiation expired without any word from the Baron family or their representative, the city council finally granted the local executive an “authority to enter into a contract” with the C-SR, sans the Baron family.
In the previous contract, the city government entered into a JVA with the Baron-Castro family for the operation of the terminal. The city government constructed the terminal while the Baron-Castro family owns the lot.
The lot owners, however, had already subdivided their real estate properties which paved the way for the city government for a JVA with the C-SR.
Ricardo “Bong” Baron of the Baron family initially expressed dismay with his relatives, the Castro family. He said he was not informed beforehand that they would be excluded in the new JVA.
Baron, who is now a director the Clark Development Corp., said he was surprised when he attended a meeting inside Clark last August 8 for what he believed was only a renewal of the JVA only to find out that the Castro family has already excluded them, prompting him to walk out of the meeting.
As a result of the Baron and Castro families going their separate ways, a concrete barricade has been constructed inside the terminal dividing the properties of the two families.
This caused stall owners on the west side of the terminal or the Baron side to complain.
However, according to Morales, Marlon Castro of the C-SR has given his assurance that the stall owners will be given priority in the new stalls under construction in the new terminal extension.
Meanwhile, Morales said the new contract will usher in an upgraded MCBT which services an average of 1,500 buses daily. The city government collects P100 for every bus that uses the terminal.
Morales said the terminal decongests traffic in the city, which hosts the vibrant Clark Freeport Zone and the Clark International Airport.
The MCBT, according to Morales, generates additional local revenue for the city and also gives comfort to the travelling public.
