City seeks audit report from MassKara organizer
BACOLOD City – Bacolod Yuhum Foundation ( BYF), organizer of the annual MassKara Festival since 2022, is being asked to submit the audited financial report for the 2023 staging of the celebrations.
BYF has to submit the report signed by their accountant before t he Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) can allow the organizer to manage the MassKara Festival anew.
Earlier, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez requested the SP for authority to sign the contract between the city government and the BYF, which the SP granted.
S P c o m m i t t e e o n appropriation and finance c hair Councilor J ude Thaddeus Sayson said that the contract, after the signing between the local chief executive and the BYF, needs to be ratified by the city council.
A f ollow- up on t he pending ratification was made yesterday, March 4, during a committee hearing, which will be included in the committee’s report to the entire SP.
Sayson disclosed that the organizer had already submitted an initial financial report to the city council, and it was shown that there was an income deficit, which reportedly caused Benitez to cover up about P10 million to pay the organizer’s other expenses.
Based on its report, BYF had P70 million in income during the MassKara Festival 2023, but the expenses have reached almost P80 million.
It was noted that among the big expenses incurred by the organizer were the plane tickets of the guests and performers.
The BYF was told to book plane tickets to avail of lower fare rates. Also, the BYF mulls reducing the number of festival sites.
It was proposed to hold an income-generating sports event to increase revenue.
The councilor hopes for a swift processing of the contract within March so the organizer can start negoti a t i ng wi t h t he sponsors.
The MassKara Festival is celebrated in the City of Smiles every October./