Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson handed over P100,000 in cash and certificates of centenarian award each to five Negrense centenarians in the cities of Bago and Kabankalan, and the municipality of Valladolid yesterday.
The centenarians are Pilar Pacite, Florencia Santillan, Arsenio Pinasas Sr., Telesforo Andres, and Cristituto Calog, a press release from the Capitol said.
Lacson and Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office OIC Merle Garcia were welcomed by the respective LGU officials, led by Mayor Pedro Zayco Jr. of Kabankalan City, and the families of the centenarians.
The governor has been visiting the centenarian awardees in their hometowns since last year, giving them cash assistance and certificates, to support and keep them safe, especially in the midst of the pandemic.
In Bacolod, Paz Villamor, who turned 100 years old on Dec. 14, 2020, and a resident of Barangay Villamonte, also received a check, worth P100,000, from the Bacolod City government Tuesday.
The check was turned over by consultant Marlon Solidum and Villamonte Barangay Captain Rommel Flores, assisted by DSSD social workers Rosalyn Rubrico, Jerah Mae Loar, and staff Marilou Tabligan, Marites Era of the Child Minding Office, and kagawad Jocelyn Makilan and staff, at Villamor’s residence.
Bacoleño centenarians, or those who have reached the age of 100 and above, are entitled to receive P100,000 in cash from the Bacolod City government under City Ordinance No. 09-16-789, a press release from City Hall said.
Meanwhile, Lacson and Zayco also joined the young artists of Kabankalan City in expressing creativity and art through painting, in support to the National Arts Month celebration this February.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts is leading the national celebration that seeks to conserve, promote, and popularize Filipino artistic creations, integrate the arts in the community life, and harness the arts as catalysts for values education, the press release said.
The National Arts Month 2021 is themed, “Alab-sining, Alay-sigla”, that aims to provide opportunities for artists to harness their creative energies in uplifting the nation’s spirit, especially during this time of public health crisis.
Lacson encouraged all Negrense artists to engage in varied forms of art to enhance their creative skills.
The mural painting, from Feb. 9-11, is initiated by the Kabankalan City Tourism Office, in cooperation with the City Culture and Arts Council.
Dubbed “Pagsaulong sang Maragtas” or a celebration of heritage, the painting aims to showcase the city’s major festivals – the Sinulog de Kabankalan and the Udyakan Festival, a press release said. The mural will serve as backdrop of the Cultural Hub performance area, and its formal installation is tentatively scheduled on March 14, during the 114th commemoration of Kabankalan’s conversion into a municipality, through the passage of Philippine Assembly Act 1612.*
