Bago City celebrates 85th Rafael M. Salas Day

BAGO CITY, Philippines — The city government paid tribute to Rafael Montinola Salas (RMS), one of the city's and Negros Occidental province's heroes, on his 85th birthday celebration in a program held at the Bago City College (BCC) last August 7. 

The day's activities were ushered in by a Rafael M. Salas Fun Walk around the city leading to the BCC where RMS' widow Carmelita and their son Rafael Miguel with school and public officials met the participants to start the program honoring Salas.

In her speech, Carmelita quoted lines from Les Miserables-"There is a night about to end and tomorrow comes. I hope for all of us tomorrow comes"-echoing the vision of her late husband's dream of a happy and better world for everyone in every country .

US Peace Corps Volunteer Elaine Sweet also shared her admiration for Salas after reading books about him and his haiku, a form of Japanese poems.

"My impressions about this imminent man are based on my shallow knowledge of his accomplishments ... The more I learned, the more I realized that he was a man far ahead of  his time," she told the audience consisting mostly of students, employees and residents of the city.

She cited the humility of the Salas family where although his father was a country physician, the young Salas was enrolled in a barrio school in Pacul, Valladolid town, and played paper boats among the children of farmers.

"This boy from Bago played with toy boats in the rice fields with other barrio children and went on to the United Nations to make a difference in the world," she said, describing Salas further as a man of integrity, rejecting policies of a regime that he saw were not benefitting the governed.

Salas was then executive secretary of the late president Ferdinand Marcos, but left the position citing differences in opinions and practice.

Salas graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines, and earned academic degrees from prestigious universities around the world, 30 honorary degrees as a UN population official, and academic awards from higher academic institutions in 25 countries.

In the UN, he was called Mr. Population for his efforts in convincing world leaders on the ill effects of over-population to world stability and peace and with this in mind, he steered the United Nations Fund for Population that grew from a small trust fund to the world's largest multilateral provider of population assistance.

A scholar, poet, manager, leader and a man of vision, Salas has been regarded by every Bagoeno and Negrense as model of excellence among children, youth, civil servants, leaders and every citizens of this country. —/PIA6 (FREEMAN)