Bacolod City public school teachers will receive an additional P500 to their existing P1,500 Emergency Cost of Living Allowance, or a total of P2,000 a month, starting January.
The early Christmas gift was announced by Mayor Evelio Leonardia at the annual gathering of Bacolod City public school teachers Saturday at the Bacolod City Government Center, and it was greeted with cheers and gratitude by the teachers Leonardia told the teachers, “Together with the Bacolodnons, you brought me back as mayor in 2004, and at the time, the city owed you some P65 million of unpaid ECOLA, payables that my administration religiously paid over five to six years, as promised, while still paying you an ECOLA of P1,000 a month.” In 2010, his administration increased their ECOLA by P500 to P1,500 a month and from 2004 and up to now, it has provided each teacher an ECOLA of about P105,000, he said. Leonardia said that, starting 2013, his administration will again increase the teachers’ ECOLA by P500 to make it P2,000 a month, an amount that is double what were receiving in 2004. “I am glad that we will be able to do so, as we propose a 2013 budget for the city of P1.23 billion, an amount which is also double our budget in 2004,” he said. The doubling of the budget is made possible by the rapid growth and development of the city, he added. Leonardia said the development is self-evident in the city landscape and has also been validated by pertinent awards conferred by prestigious and credible institutions based on scientific surveys. Among these awards are as Most Business Friendly City of the Philippines, Top 2 Among the 10 Growth Centers of the Philippines, Top 3 Among the 10 Next Wave Cities of the Philippines for Business Process Outsourcing, and Best City to Live in the Philippines, he said. Leonardia made special mention of the cooperation and support of Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson and the present and past members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod to his administration, together with the private sector that had brought sustained economic growth and development to the city. Leonardia said he is glad that the annual gathering of teachers was held at the government center, a 40-year dream of Bacolodnons that his administration brought into reality at a cost of some P394 million, an amount much lower than the P700 million Iloilo City Hall. “Our political opponents filed 13 criminal and administrative cases against us with the Ombudsman but all these 13 cases were dismissed by the Ombudsman because they found ‘nothing anomalous’ in the construction of the government center,” he pointed out. France Castro, president of the Quezon City Teachers’ Association and Secretary General of the teachers’ party list ACT was the keynote speaker during the 61st Teachers’ Day anchored on the theme “Public School Teachers: Heroes and Heroines of the Past, Present and Future Generations.” Meanwhile, Leonardia and Bacolod School’s Division Superintendent Gemma Ledesma, together with Sayson, Councilors Homer Bais, Roberto Rojas, Em Ang, Carlos Jose Lopez, Caesar Distrito and City Administrator John Orola, switched on the simple but elegant Christmas lights strung at the façade of the BCGC during the 61st Teacher’s day celebration that was attended by over 2,500 public school teachers and local DepEd officials. Also present were Councilors Archie Baribar, El Cid Familiaran, Catalino Alisbo, Caesar Distrito and Mona Dia Jardin and Secretary to the Mayor Moises De La Cruz. Fitness personality Valerie Concepcion, who was invited by Orola, entertained the crowds after the lights on ceremony Saturday. BY CHRYSEE SAMILLANO The Visayan Daily Star
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Militants trooped to the streets to pay tribute to the revolutionary hero Andres Bonifacio while bringing their local issues of jobs, land and rights in a day where the national hero is being remembered. Members of the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Anakpawis, Gabriela and the Promotion of Church People’s Response held a short program in front of the old Bacolod City Hall yesterday. Local issues like demolition in the urban areas, joblessness and human rights were discussed by the groups who participated in the said activity. Fr. Romeo Tagud of PCPR said it is Andres Bonifacio who should be given credit and tribute due to his decision to take up arms and lead the Philippine Revolution in 1896.
Bonifacio Day is commemorated and the latter is being given tribute for his contribution not only to Philippine history and Independence, but the lessons he imparted to the youth on how to stand up and fight. Militants say that their issues will be publicly known as they marched on the streets during the celebration of Bonifacio Day. Earlier yesterday, students and faculty members of the Bonifacio Elementary school staged a program in remembering Gat Andres Bonifacio near the school grounds. The activity was also attended by various public officials who paid homage to the National Hero. Vice Mayor Thaddy Sayson said the Filipinos should also learn from what Bonifacio has risen and fought for and that is Independence. Number One City Councilor El Cid Familiaran also told NDB that there are a lot of modern day heroes who need no monument but instead, are doing things for the City and for the country. Ordinary citizens who do not take advantage from the weaknesses of others and those who do good deeds to others are the modern day heroes of our time, Familiaran added. BY OWEN BAYOG NEGROS DAILY BULLETIN ‘Bonifacio’s death not in vain’
Bacolod Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson led city officials in the observance of the 149th death anniversary of national hero Andres Bonifacio at the Andres Bonifacio Elementary School I in Bacolod City yesterday. Bonifacio was the Founder of the KKK and Father of the Philippine Revolution, associated with the “Cry of Balintawak.” Sayson, who represented Mayor Evelio Leonardia, said “Filipinos should bear in mind what Bonifacio had done that gave liberty to generations that came after him, including the present one,” a press release from City Hall said. Although Bonifacio came from the ranks of the poor, was not able to finish his education and even suffered an anomalous death in the hands of his compatriots, his death was not in vain because, by his courageous and heroic acts, he moved the common Filipinos to start the revolution against the oppressive Spanish colonizer, Sayson said. Assistant Schools Division Superintendent, of Bacolod, Clarissa Zamora, on behalf of the Schools Division Superintendent, Gemma Ledesma, said “The principles left by Bonifacio will inspire all of us and the succeeding generations to defend our democracy.” ABES 1 pupils led by their principal Jose Donnie Sajonia performed a play, “Ang Katotohanan Tunggo sa Pagkakaisa” that received warm applause from the big crowd who attended the occasion, the release said. Also at the activity was Councilors Catalino Alisbo, Em Ang, Archie Baribar, Caesar Distrito, El Cid Familiaran, Roberto Rojas and Sonya Verdeflor, barangay officials and representatives of DepEd, World War II Veterans, Bacolod City Police, Knights of Columbus, Circulo de Bacolod, Girl Scouts and the academe. THE VISAYAN DAILY STAR |
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