BY EUGENE Y.ADIONG
BACOLOD City – Filipinos are “fighting for a different kind of freedom,” said Negros Occidental’s Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. during the program commemorating the 116th anniversary of Philippine Independence at the Provincial Lagoon and Park here yesterday.
“This is freedom from want, freedom from poverty and freedom from injustice,” the governor stressed.
There is so much want in a wide world of plenty, Marañon lamented, adding that “no Filipino or Negrosanon should go hungry” because the country is “very rich.”
The provincial government is focusing on food security, especially on agriculture which is our country’s strength, he pointed out.
The provincial government is investing huge resources to produce food for the people, Marañon said. He thanked President Benigno Aquino III for giving the province P621 million agricultural assistance.
“I reiterate my call to our brothers in the mountains to go down and help each other instead,” he said. “Let us not fight each other. Our enemy is poverty. Let us work hand and hand to make this country great again because we have so much potential.”
The momentum of growth is there, “let us not stop,” Marañon said.
For his part, Vice Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said this year’s Independence Day theme “speaks well of our timely response to the degrading value of our freedom which many people have forgotten.”
“The present generation needs to express concern and always be reminded that they need to look back and ensure the glory of the past is not sacrificed,” Lacson said.
He added: “Let us continue to work to solve the many pressing problems of our society like poverty in countryside and corruption in many offices.”/PN
