By ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
THE PROVINCE of Negros Occidental named its 28th heiress to the Lin-ay sang Negros crown on April 19. She’s Kyla Rose Romarate of Victorias City.
She bested 28 other hopefuls from different towns and component cities in the province in a nearly four-hour pageant held at the midst of a football stadium at Panaad Park in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City.
Was she deserving of the coveted title “Lin-ay sang Negros 2024”?
Yes! To be the heiress of the Lin-ay sang Negros crown ain’t just about beauty, poise and grace.
There’s a responsibility that someone with the crown on her head must embody – the values of a true “Babayeng Negrosanon”: intelligent, resilient, respectful.
She must also have one astonishing advocacy, impacting the lives of her fellow Negrosanons.
Kyla is “beyond ready” to accept the challenge.
Talking to her up close and personal minutes after she was crowned, the regal beauty from Victorias opened her mouth with sense and essence. She was not ashamed, of course, to tell me what her plans are after the coronation.
Kyla said she wants to lead a fund drive aimed at establishing a sustainable program leading to caring and loving the asong kalye (AsKal) in Negros, which she believes are potential sources of the dreaded rabies disease.
Not an easy wish. But Kyla, a veterinary medicine student at Aklan State University, is confident to ace the many projected challenges of her pro-AsKal advocacy.
She stressed during the Q&A (question and answer) portion of the pageant night: the “Abanse Negrense” political branding of Gov. Bong Lacson must not only limit to people, but must expand to other species as well. It must include animals.
RABIES KILLS
Point by point, Kyla is true. Her love and concern for AsKals is one noteworthy cause that, indeed, we Negrosanons must support at all cost.
Why?
Rabies is harmful. It kills human beings. Records from the Provincial Rabies Laboratory (PRL) showed that Negros Occidental logged 19 rabies cases in 2022 and 16 last year.
The provincial veterinary office is aiming to vaccinate at least 70% of the dog population in the province this year to address the zoonotic rabies disease.
Provincial Veterinarian Placeda Lemana praised Romarate’s triumph and her promised advocacy about stray dogs.
She will be a good advocate of the province in advancing animal welfare and responsible pet ownership, Lemana said.
Well, Kyla is one lady “with a heart” for the AsKals. I am not a dog lover but can sense what’s in her mind and heart towards the AsKals.
QUEST FOR ANIMAL WELFAREA
It’s heart-warming that Kyla is determined to promote animal welfare in the province. Lemana said this is immense. But she hopes Kyla will use the Lin-ay sang Negros platform to further her advocacy on animal welfare.
I admire Kyla not just because of her regal beauty but because of her well-crafted advocacy “with the heart”.
In one of my nightly readings, I encountered this line: The purity of a person’s heart can be measured by how he/she regards animals.
Even Pope Francis once said it is contrary to human dignity to be responsible for causing any animals to suffer or to die needlessly in any way.
I do hope Kyla will not just be a queen of Negros because she’s beautiful but also the queen for all animals.
Having a “heart” for animals, Kyla is truly “beyond blessed”./PN
