Bill seeks ‘win-win’ solution to Bacolod Charter Day conundrum

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri

BACOLOD City – Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri appears to be helping ease the tension between political rivals former mayor Monico Puentevella and incumbent Mayor Evelio Leonardia.

Zubiri introduced an amendment to the bill setting the Bacolod City Charter Day; he saw this as a “win-win solution” to the debate on when the city was exactly created.

Puentevella and Leonardia are on opposite ends of the debate. The former insists Bacolod came into “corporate existence” on Oct. 19, 1938 when then President Manuel Quezon inaugurated the city. The latter stresses that Commonwealth Act 326, which created the city, was approved on June 18, 1938 thus “right there and then, the city was already constituted as a political body.”

On Sept. 10 the Senate passed on third and final reading the “Act declaring June 18 of every year a special nonworking holiday in the city of Bacolod, province of Negros Occidental, to be known as the ‘Bacolod City Charter Day,’ in commemoration of the day President Manuel L. Quezon signed and approved into effect Commonwealth Act No. 326, creating the city of Bacolod.”

With Zubiri’s amendment now the bill recognizes the city’s inauguration on Oct. 19, 1938 and to be commemorated every year – with the MassKara Festival every fourth Sunday of October.

These two latter dates are declared holidays in Bacolod as well under the amended House Bill 7044, Zubiri said.

The senator admitted Puentevella called him prior to this, worried that the latter two events will not be part of celebrations in the city under the original House Bill 7044 version.

“We just want to let the people (of Bacolod) know that we talked to both sides. We talked to Puentevella and Leonardia,” said Zubiri. “I think this is the best for the people of Bacolod, recognizing the three historic dates.”

The House of Representatives will have to adopt the Senate amendment to House Bill 7044 before the measure can be submitted for signing to President Rodrigo Duterte, said Zubiri, the majority floor leader.

Zubiri hopes the measure gets signed into law before the MassKara Festival on Oct. 28./PN

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