BY MATÉ ESPINA
NO CANNON shots, no marches, no recognition of Negrenses last Thursday as Negros Occidental suspended the celebration of Cinco de Noviembre, a public holiday in both the province and the city of Bacolod.
There were virtual celebrations but none of the fanfare that the province usually prepares in honor of the November 5, 1898 revolt that led to the liberation of Negros from Spanish forces.
Some historians call it the first bloodless revolution in the country after Gen. Juan Araneta of Bago in the south and Gen. Aniceto Lacson of Silay in the north, led Filipino troopers to march towards Bacolod armed with fake cannons and rifles which were carved out of nipa and bamboo.
The Spaniards seeing the black painted fake armaments from afar believed they had no chance to fight the revolutionists and instead, quietly surrendered by signing the Act of Capitulation the day after.
Negros Occidental Gov. Bong Lacson said that since the pandemic prohibits mass gatherings, the province instead will deliver their commitment of giving P100,000 to about 30 Negrense centenarians.
In a message, Lacson said he hopes that Negrenses will “find renewed meaning, resolve and inspiration to unite and work together to achieve our common goal as a people – that is to defeat the threat of COVID-19, not just to our freedom but to our very existence.”
“Right now, we are again in a middle of a war, not against conquistadores, but against an unseen and novel enemy, the COVID-19. This time, we are fighting together with the entire humanity,” Lacson added.
But fighting a different war has not stopped Negrense women in making waves in the international scene despite the difficulty due to the pandemic.
Recently, Clairevee “Aya” Gamboa from Bacolod was presented the Qatar Woman Leader Award during the Word Women Leadership Award Congress and World Marketing Congress in Qatar. She was the first Filipina to be get that recognition.
Aya who received the award virtually, as she has been stuck home in Bacolod since March because of the pandemic, said in an interview that the award is not only for her but “goes to every Filipino around the world who see opportunities amidst unforeseen adversities.”
Aya is only 37 years old yet she has established several businesses all over the Middle East including in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar among others. The report said that she “contributed to Qatar’s national security through contracts acquisition and research and development when the emirate was subjected to a controversial blockade from its neighboring countries.”
Another Negrense, Bea Cruz, from Victorias City, is also making waves in the international fashion scene after grabbing two major awards at the 14th International Virtual Art Renewal Center (ARC) Salon Exhibition and the Fashion Week San Diego in California.
Bea won as top designer in the annual fashion event in San Diego and the Art and Beauty Behind Fashion best team award.
Bea, 22, was the youngest participant and though she would have wanted to travel to the US for that event, she had to stay home because of travel restrictions. In an interview over Digicast Negros, she was surprised she bagged the major awards but was proud seeing her 10-piece collection sashayed down the runway even virtually.
Her “Vivira” collection was inspired by traditional Filipino attire like the panuelo, the baro’t saya and barong which she had to ship from Negros, to Manila, to the US in time for the event.
“I was really surprised because I’ve always envisioned my works making it internationally but I had no idea when or how I would be able to achieve that,” Aya said. She has been designing for two years now and has a shop in Bacolod.
Indeed, seeing her collections, Aya may soon spread her wings internationally and who knows, may just become another Monique Lhuillier who is now a sought-after designer of Hollywood stars.
But while there are things to be proud of, there are some news too that brings a bit of shame especially two medical practitioners who are both in government service.
A medical doctor in San Carlos City was called out by Gov. Bong as a COVID-19 super spreader, causing the spike of coronavirus cases there due to complacency.
According to the governor, the doctor who was not feeling well, still attended to some functions and this led to quite a number of government employees getting infected. San Carlos continues to have 130 active cases out of the 279 total cases.
In Bacolod meanwhile, City Health Officer, Dr. Carmela Gensoli, has taken a leave of absence but city officials were quick to deny that she is being relieved from her post or being investigated.
This, following posts online where Gensoli was accused of allegedly requiring X-Ray tests as part of getting a medical certification or travel documents which was not an official requirement. On top of that, the tests were allegedly done in a facility which was owned by the CHO chief.
But City Administrator Em Ang said those allegations were but “malicious.” Gensoli also took flak in the past for requesting the procurement of exorbitantly-priced Vitamic C./PN
