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[av_heading heading=’Oct. 19 special holiday in Bacolod ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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BACOLOD City – The Diamond Jubilee Memorial Tower at the Bacolod Public Plaza will be lit up 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
At 10 p.m., the 1st Mayor Evelio Leonardia Invitational Fireworks Display Competition will begin, with the first two entries firing at the Bacolod Government Center.
These twin MassKara Festival activities will highlight the Bacolod City Charter Day, a special non-working holiday in Bacolod.
City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan, in Legal Opinion No. 16-131 issued on Oct. 12, 2016, took cognizance of Republic Act (RA) 7724 otherwise known as “Bacolod City Charter Day.”
Although there are moves to correct this with the recent discovery that the city’s Charter was actually signed on June 18, 1938, the holiday remains in force until the law is amended.
Bayatan said Section 2 of RA 7724 is clearly self-executory in declaring that “October 19 of every year as a special nonworking holiday in the City of Bacolod.”
RA 7724 was approved on May 19, 1994 and henceforth, every Oct. 19 of the subsequent years are observed as nonworking public holiday in the City of Bacolod, he added.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia earlier said it is the city government’s position that the Charter Day of Bacolod should be held on June 18 instead of Oct. 19 after they discovered the correct date in the documents signed by President Manuel L. Quezon.
This makes June 18 the actual Charter Day of Bacolod and the record should be straightened, Leonardia said.
What happened on Oct. 19, 1938 was the inauguration of the first city officials for which Quezon came to Bacolod, local historian Modesto Sa-onoy said.
The mayor said there is also a photograph of the event dated June 18, 1938 which he believes is very authentic, valid and shows that it is the legal date of the Charter Day.
Leonardia said he discussed the matter with Rep. Greg Gasataya. It is now his turn to come up with the corresponding legislative action that will institute that, he added.
The mayor added that if they do not correct the date of the celebration of the city’s Charter Day now, people will continue to celebrate it on the wrong date./PN
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