BY MATÉ ESPINA
THE ENTIRE island of Negros is mourning the passing of former Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. last Thursday night.
An official statement from the family, issued by daughter Anna Marie McConchie, said that their father “went home to our Lord at 11:38 p.m., Oct. 1” due to complications association with his cardiac health. He would have been 85 years old this December.
Social media accounts of Negrenses, both in the Occidental and Oriental part, are paying tribute to the governor who was known for his dedication to create the One Island, One Region for Negros.
02, as he was fondly called by many, had a long political life which started in 1964 when he became councilor in Sagay City, in northern Negros. He then became vice-mayor, then mayor and also served as assemblyman and congressman of the second district of Negros Occidental and a three-termer governor.
I worked for 02 as his executive assistant during his first term as governor in 2010 and have fond memories of him when we were preparing for his campaign. His older brother, Joseph, was also a popular governor who passed away in the middle of his last term. Although initially a reluctant candidate, Gov. Freddie became one of the most admired governor this province ever had.
If there is one thing many in Negros will be reminded of, 02 never minced words and will speak his mind always. He will be remembered for being a staunch advocate of organic agriculture, aquaculture and the environment for which he received numerous awards.
Because of the pandemic, the family said that they will have a virtual gathering to celebrate the governor’s life and in lieu of flowers, that donations be given to 02’s charity works – the Carmelite Monastery in Bacolod and the St. Joseph Parish in Sagay City.
I was talking to his widow, Dr. Marilyn Marañon yesterday who said that it was the governor’s dream that the church will be completed. Although the structure is there, “there is so much to be done,” she said.
Gov. Freddie donated the two-hectare lot where the church and a school stands and it will be his legacy for the people in his hometown.
His remains were brought home to Sagay yesterday afternoon after passing through the Provincial Capitol grounds so the employees can pay their last respects. He will be buried right after the 2 p.m. mass on Sunday which will be officiated by Diocese of San Carlos Bishop Gerry Alminaza, his friend and co-environment advocate.
Gov. Freddie is survived by his wife Marilyn and their children Todd and Anna Marie McConchie, Armand and Aileen Lontoc, Sagay City mayor Alfredo III and Fe Marañon, Takayuki and Agnes Iida, Patrick and Carmela Valderrama, Anthony and Cathy Marañon, and Councilor Arthur and Charisse Marañon.
In other news, Bacolod will start the mandatory testing for all vendors in the three public markets starting today. Although some vendors said they will not cooperate and there are even reports that they will stage a noise barrage to protest the testing, the city government is hoping that they will get the cooperation of most.
Executive Assistant Ernesto Pineda who is in-charge of the testing said it is all systems go and they will deploy various swab teams in the markets. Those who will cooperate will immediately be given a “gate pass” to allow them entry to the market and open their stalls. They will also be given a seal of compliance to inform buyers of their cooperation.
However, unlike the regular protocols of going on quarantine after swabbing until results come out, Pineda said the vendors will be allowed to resume work after the tests since they are not anyway part of the contact tracing list.
The vendors will only be placed in quarantine facilities when their results come out positive. This is totally in contrast with health protocols for those swabbed and since results normally come out in a week’s time, sometimes even more, putting those vendors back to work also increases their chances to contaminate others if they turn out positive.
Ah, but perhaps the city government knows the rationale behind this. They have become overly sensitive about the bashing they have been getting from the people, especially with the mass gathering of people at the City Hall grounds last Saturday, that they throw the blame on so-called political opponents who are sabotaging them.
Mayor Bing Leonardia has called for an investigation into the alleged “hakot” of people to that incident saying it is impossible for thousands of people to gather on that day without somebody behind it, appealing to spare the city from dirty politics amidst the pandemic.
However, netizens didn’t take kindly to that and further bashed the city for doing the blame-game instead of acknowledging that the bottomline was simply because people were hungry and desperate after being locked down for over three weeks with barely any assistance from government.
It will be interesting to see the results of that investigation or whether it’s even worth investigating./PN
