ILOILO – The province is all set for its 122nd founding anniversary celebration dubbed “Semana sang Iloilo” from April 11 to 14.
Anchored on the theme “122 Years of Championing Progress”, a lineup of activities will commemorate the establishment of the civil government in Iloilo province on April 11, 1901.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said the celebration will highlight the province’s history, especially for the younger generation.
“We give importance to historical events related to the founding, or at least to the event considered as the founding day, of the province of Iloilo (April 11, 1901),” said Defensor.
He also cited the significance of the celebration as the province is positioning itself as an investment destination under the development agenda called “MoRProGRes Iloilo” or the “Movement for a Robust, Progressive, Globally Competitive, and Resilient Province of Iloilo”.
Activities
The celebration will kick off on April 11 with a fun walk/street dance by provincial government employees from Sunburst Park to the Iloilo Provincial Capitol grounds at 6:30 a.m.
An opening program and a cheerdance competition will follow.
A thanksgiving mass will be held at the capitol lobby around 9:30 a.m.
At 10:30 a.m., there will be a ribbon cutting for the Sumakwelan exhibit featuring books written in Hiligaynon at the Casa Real lobby.
It will be followed by the opening of the MoRProGRes Garden Show beside the Casa Real.
At 1:30 p.m., a groundbreaking for the solar energy facility at the Aleosan District Hospital in Alimodian town will be held.
An Important Cultural Property Marker will be unveiled at the Casa Real entrance at 4:30 p.m., followed by the official launching of the MoRProGRes Iloilo at the capitol lobby.
The second day on April 12 will open with a Festival of Municipalities at the capitol main entrance at 9 a.m.
There will also be animal spaying and neutering to be spearheaded by the Provincial Veterinary Office at Casa Real.
At 10 a.m., the awarding ceremony for the Top Taxpayers and Stakeholders in the Province of Iloilo will be held at the Casa Real Social Hall.
The Inter-district Bag/Bayong Painting Contest and Plant Pots/Banga Painting Contest will take place in front of the National Museum of Western Visayas at 1 p.m.
On April 13, there will be a bloodletting to be led by the Association of Iloilo Provincial Government Employees in partnership with the Philippine Red Cross at the National Museum of Western Visayas.
The Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office will also officially launch the “Tapon to Ipon” project at the capitol lobby. It aims to collect clear PET bottles for recycling.
Employees from the different district hospitals will showcase their talents in the Inter-hospital Dance Contest at 1 p.m. in the capitol lobby.
April 14, Friday, will be the Iloilo provincial government’s “employees’ day” to be highlighted by a Laro ng Lahi competition in the morning and the Search for Mutya ng Barangay Kapitolyo in the afternoon.
It will also be the opening day of the two-day First Iloilo Seaweed Summit at the Casa Real Social Hall.
The employees will also engage in different sports activities from April 3 to 14.
Other events are the Agri/Aqua Trade Fair at the provincial capitol grounds; the MSMEs Trade Fair at the capitol lobby; and the food fest at the capitol parking grounds. (With a report from ECG, Capitol News)/PN
