- CHERYL G. CRUZ
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo “Albee” Benitez expressed optimism that 2023 “will be a prosperous year for all of us.”
He said at the opening of the 18th Bacolaodiat Festival celebration at the Bacolod Government Center grounds early this evening, Jan. 20, that “we can now move forward as evidenced by this celebration and that of the MassKara Festival” that was celebrated in-person in October last year, after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus disease pandemic.
“I feel and I think that 2023 will be a prosperous year for all of us,” Benitez said during a cultural show to officially open the Chinese New Year celebration in Bacolod. “It’s about time that we forget the past and move forward.”
He said he was told by the City Treasurer’s Office early today that 2023 “is a record year” in terms of taxes collected in the Business One Stop Shop at the Ayala Malls Capitol Central that is ongoing until Feb. 15.
“We already collected 50 percent more than the previous years,” Benitez said although he did not give exact details. “I think it is a signal, a sign that there are better things to come in Bacolod.”
Bacolaodiat Festival chairman John Stephen Sy, meanwhile, said that as the world is slowly easing out of the pandemic, he hopes that this revelry “be a clear signal that we are all ready to move forward to a brighter Bacolod.”
He said that this celebration is not only to usher in the Chinese New Year, but also to highlight the harmonious coming together of the local Filipino-Chinese community, the city officials, and the Bacolodnons.
“It is also a fitting occasion to showcase our rich cultures and shared values, and to put into highlight the talents of Bacolodnons,” Sy said.
He thanked the city officials and all their partners “for making the 2023 Bacolaodiat more vibrant and truly wonderful.”/CGC
