Bonanza of awards for Negros Occidental

Provincial employees of Negros Occidental received from the Sangguniang Panlalawigan an additional P5,000 bonus which Gov. Isidro Zayco recommended because the province captured the “Best Performing Province of Western Visayas” award from the DILG regional office.

But that excellence award turned out to be just one of four given to the province, as it received three more – Excellence in Administrative Governance, Excellence in Economic Development, and Excellence in Environmental Management.

Bacolod City, too, won the Excellence Award in the Economic Development, besting six other cities in Western Visayas. Dr. Roger Balo, city administrator, received the award on behalf of City Mayor Evelio Leonardia at the Sarabia Manor Wednesday.

The Excellence Award aims to promote transparency and accountability in governance and reinforces the good performers. It also aims to popularize replicable best practices and to educate the electorate, according to the DILG regional office.

Negros Occidental also harvested several awards in the categories of cities and municipalities.

Just to cite a few, Kabankalan City was cited for excellence in local legislature and environmental management. San Carlos captured the award for social service and administrative governance. Hinigaran City town bagged the excellence award for economic development, while Pulupandan town ran off with the award for environmental management.

The DILG provincial office under Ma. Joy Maredith Madayag also won honors as the Best Provincial DILG Office.

Tagapamayapa Incentive Awards were also given to Barangays Delicoso of Ilog town and San Antonio of Himamaylan.

Whew, that’s a lot of awards for the province – and the best Christmas gift the DILG could give the local government units.

Perhaps, additional bonuses for employees?

There is another major positive news development. Six Negrense lay persons of Bacolod have been honored with Papal Awards, according to Bacolod Diocese Bishop Vicente Navarra.

Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, officially advised Navarra that Nestor Inventor Gabalda, Benjamin Dacles Lopue Jr. and journalist Modesto Sacnoy would be invested with the knighthood of Pope Sylvester with the rank of commander.

Three Catholic women – Maria Teresa Causing, Amparo Quevenco Ferrais, and Erlinda Rigeo Ledesma – were also be conferred the Pro Ecclesia et Potifice Cross.

The rank of commander is the highest class of the Order of Pope St. Sylvester.

The solemn investiture of the Knights Commanders of the Order and the official conferment of the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice were held yesterday at the San Sebastian Cathedral, coinciding with the Feast of St. Sebastian the patron saint of the Bacolod Diocese.

To the Papal awardees, our sincere congratulations.

ADDENDA. The Silay City resident who won the P120,900,879 Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s lotto draw Monday is a jobless elderly and a nice person. This was revealed by former councilor Dennis Velez, operator of the lotto outlet at the corner of Gomez and Burgos streets in that city. Security reasons prevented former mayor Edwin Velez from naming the winner. But he added that the winner is married to a retired schoolteacher. And Velez added that the new multi-millionaire really deserves to win the prize… On another front, James Sola, son of the late Kabankalan City mayor Pablo Sola, survived an attempt by two unidentified gunmen to kill him Wednesday along Coloso street in that city. Sola, who was hit in the back and chest, survived the ambush and is now being treated in a private hospital. Superintendent Calixto Mabugat, Kabankalan police chief, said Sola was on his way home to Barangay Talubangi on board a motorcycle when he was shot. The identities of the gunmen remain unknown, as well as the motive for the shooting incident, but police theorized that this could be due to a land conflict or personal grudge.