Another bishop dies

Just a day after the requiem Mass for Pope John Paul II by the Bacolod clergy, led by Bishop Vicente Navarra, Bishop Emeritus Vicente Garrucho Salgado of Romblon passed away at the Riverside Medical Center.

He was still young at 68 years old. But the prelate who retired on Jan. 30, 1997 had been suffering from a liver disease with malignant degeneration.

His remains now lie in state at the Sacred Heart Seminary, where he once served as rector.

I mourn the passing of Bishop Salgado, a classmate. Actually, he was two years behind the pioneer class of the seminary I attended and I remember him as a young man who was among the brightest in his class.

Msgr. Victorino Rivas, vicar general of the Bacolod Diocese, said a 9 a.m. Mass will be officiated for the Romblon bishop on Friday. He will be buried in a crypt at the San Sebastian Cathedral.

While serving as bishop of Romblon, Salgado and I had talked about his plans for his diocese on several occasions. Later, he started complaining to me about his ailment. He was appointed bishop of the island-diocese on May 30, 1988.

Aside from being former parish priest of Bacolod City and Cadiz City, Bishop Salgado had also served as rector of the Sacred Heart Seminary and the St. Joseph Regional Seminary in Jaro, Iloilo City.

But even in retirement, Salgado continued helping shepherd the flock of the Bacolod Diocese and had intimated to me his awareness that his days were numbered, pointing out that the onslaught of the disease could not be arrested anymore.

The Catholic faithful of the Bacolod Diocese and those of Romblon will surely miss Bishop Salgado. But then we cannot afford to prevent his reunion with the late Pope John Paul II.

Goodbye, Bishop "Boy." May God grant you your just reward as a faithful servant who bore anguish and pain with the awareness that the Resurrection comes after the Crucifixion.

Task Force Stingray

Quietly and hardly creating a ripple, Task Force Stingray of the Philippine Navy started patrolling last week the Guimaras Strait and the Visayan Sea to guard Boracay, Aklan’s world-famous island resort.

Lt. Cmdr. Rommel June Ong said the newly acquired gunboat, Juan Magluyan, is a US-designed naval gunboat equipped with four caliber .50 machineguns and manned by a crew of 12. It was acquired recently by the AFP from the US government and will serve as a vital surveillance vessel for Task Force Stingray.

A refurbished Navy Islander 310 will also join the AFP’s force. Modern vessels like this will be used to preempt possible terrorist attacks in Region 6 or the Western Visayas.

The campaign against terrorism has been upped gradually by the AFP. Chances of surprise attacks grow dimmer with the deployment of modern equipment and weapons.

Tightened Security

Police tightened security at the Asian Alcohol Corp. (AAC) facility in Barangay Canjusa, Pulupandan, following receipt of bomb threats, according to Pulupandan Senior Inspector Nestor Tuadles.

PNP provincial director Charles Calima directed the Pulupandan police to coordinate with the security supervisors of AAC after text messages were received on Sunday that the facility would be bombed. A thorough inspection of the facility, however, yielded negative results.

Police and AAC security personnel, however, imposed stricter inspection of vehicles and people entering the company compound.

Tuadles suspects that the bomb threat may have stemmed from the layoff of the company’s contractual employees. But, as is often pointed out, one can’t relax in the face of reported threats.

Sipalay As Boracay Alternative

The Panaad Festival, which opened on Saturday at the Panaad Sports Complex, proved to be a top crowd-drawer as predicted. Thousands of screaming fans, mostly youngsters, greeted the performance of Gary Valenciano. Thousands more witnessed the battle of festival dances presented by 20 towns and cities of Negros Occidental.

Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo said Panaad reflects the unity, character and resilience of Negrenses.

Sagay City’s Singayan dancers won the top prize of P50,000 in the Battle of Festivals. La Carlota City’s Pasalamat dancers and the San Carlos City’s Pinta Flores dancers won the second and third prize, respectively.

The board of judges were Oriental Negros board member Mariant Villegas, National Capital Region’s Gener Caringal, Koronadal’s Noel Garovillas, Iloilo’s Annie Divinagracia-Sartorio and Capiz’s Alphonsus Tesoro, all from the National Commission on Culture and the Arts.

After the success of Panaad as a tourism promotion event, Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon received another welcome news from regional tourism director Edwin Trompeta.

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano is reportedly negotiating the opening of two private airports in southern Negros Occidental — the airport owned by the Maricalum Mining Corp. in Sipalay City and the airport of the Construction Development Corp. of the Philippines in Basay, Oriental Negros.

Durano’s goal is to draw tourists in Cebu, Boracay and Palawan to also see the scenic spots of Basay and Sipalay.

The stretch from Cauayan to Hinobaan in southern Negros Occidental down to Basay and Bawayan City is one of the most picturesque spots in Negros Island, which used to attract many foreign tourists in the past, especially Japanese tourists. With the insurgency problem virtually solved, resort owners have started to redevelop their facilities.

Actually, there is a perceptible increase in the number of visitors now frequenting these places. But their accessibility to aircraft could prove a boon to the Negros tourism industry.

Asia of Hinobaan, for example, can rival the white sandy beaches of Boracay and Bulata in Cauayan.

Trompeta agreed that the willingness of Negrenses to come up with the best tourism package, gave added impetus to Durano’s resolve to pursue the possibility of bringing in light aircraft through two private airports in Basay and Sipalay City.

As outlined in Marañon’s masterplan, this is, indeed, welcome news. For Negrenses, the good news is that Trompeta, who has often been accused of having eyes only for Boracay, has finally agreed that other parts of Western Visayas also hold the promise of becoming tourist destinations.