BY MATÉ ESPINA
THE outpouring of tribute from thousands of Negrenses flooded social media over the weekend for former governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. who was laid to rest last Sunday in his hometown in Sagay City.
Gov. Freddie was governor of Negros Occidental for nine years with a political career spanning over five decades from councilor to vice mayor, mayor, assemblyman and congressional representative. His older brother, Joseph, was also a governor who passed away in the middle of his last term.
Gov. Freddie succumbed to acute respiratory failure secondary to acute pulmonary thromboembolism at the Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod City Thursday night.
A virtual live feed of the funeral mass showed the St. Joseph’s Church festooned with flowers sent by top officials, multi-national companies, the local government units and many others despite the appeal of the family to donate instead to the late governor’s charitable causes in lieu of flowers.
Gov. Bong Lacson and Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer led provincial officials in attending the last rites and despite the pandemic, some 700 people attended the High Mass concelebrated by Bishop Gerry Alminaza, a close friend of Gov. Freddie and a co-advocate for the environment.
Bishop Gerry in his homily challenged the officials to pursue the advocacy of the late governor, particularly in ensuring a clean and sustainable energy for Negros Occidental. The bishop was referring to the executive order issued by Gov. Freddie before his term ended, calling for a coal-free province, amidst a proposal from San Miguel Corporation to set up one in San Carlos City.
That proposal has been temporarily shelved after thousands joined the Church and youth-led protest against the project. It was a jab at the present leadership who was then the vice-governor when the EO was released and who never made a categorical stand opposing the project in his hometown.
“We are proud to remain a coal-free and renewable energy province, and we are blessed to have had a leader who understood that the planet and its people are what matters most,” Bishop Gerry said.
After the funeral mass, only family members and top officials were allowed at the last rites where Gov. Freddie was given a 21-gun salute and Gov. Bong endorsed the Philippine flag covering his coffin to his widow, Marilyn, before he was finally interred.
In Bacolod City meanwhile, hundreds of vendors held a noise barrage at the public markets in opposition of the mandatory mass testing as requirement for their continued operation.
The proposal, according to Bacolod Mayor Bing Leonardia, was upon the orders of Maj. Gen. Mel Feliciano, head implementer for the Visayas of the National lnter-Agency Task Force. Leonardia added that it seems there are people who are spreading disinformation about the campaign, telling vendors that testing would cost them P5,000.
However, vendors who were interviewed never mentioned testing cost but rather, most of them were afraid as to what would happen to their families and their livelihood in the event they test positive because the information coming from the city is not clear-cut.
The testing process is quite mind-boggling as well as it does not follow the usual testing protocols which mandates that those who have been tested must undergo quarantine until their results are out. In this case, vendors will be tested, then given a gate pass to continue operating for complying with the requirement.
If their results come out positive, they will immediately be placed in quarantine facilities and their families will be provided food assistance. However, this seems dangerous because results don’t come out in a day or two and if a vendor tests positive, then he or she could have exposed buyers to the virus which will make contact tracing even more difficult.
Executive Assistant Ernie Pineda, head of the Quick Response Team (Extraction Cluster), said they have been informed that there were rallyists who joined the protest Saturday who were not real market vendors.
This is a classic excuse of the city government who also pointed to political opponents as the cause of disinformation when thousands converged at the City Hall grounds a week ago. Who would, in their right mind, join a rally at this point amidst the COVID scare? Ah, but the city has been playing the blame-game rather than acknowledge their shortcomings.
In fact, the city government was also criticized for coming out with a threat of sanctions for those who could not comply in signing up with the BaCTrac system which provides a QR code so that one can enter government and private establishments within 15 days.
However, their own system bogged down due to the influx of registrants plus there is that security issue raised because the site is apparently not secured and can be easily hacked. I was able to register on my fourth attempt and while I agree to the concept as they can easily track people in case of an outbreak in a particular place, it is not a people-friendly app especially for those who do not have access to internet or not tech-savvy at all./PN
