Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday said that the Chinese New Year celebration in Bacolod City is expected to capture the market of Taiwanese and Chinese tourists.

Leonardia said the Taiwanese and Chinese go out of their country every time they celebrate the Chinese New Year. "We feel that the Chinese New Year or "Bacolaodiat" is something that will become another MassKara Festival of Bacolod," he said.

He is very happy over the way the local Chinese community responded to his request for them to spearhead the Chinese New Year celebration in the city, Leonardia said. "And for this endeavor they have bonded together as one and meticulously planned out the activity, which will include the biggest fireworks display," he added.

The Negros Tsinoy, a confederation of Filipino-Chinese organizations in the city and in Negros Occidental, had requested the Mayor that business tycoon Lucio Tan be declared an honorary mayor of Bacolod during the Chinese New Year celebration because of his philanthrophic work.

Leonardia said a ceremony will be held in City Hall when Tan arrives and the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod will present the Resolution it passed declaring him an adopted son of Bacolod in the venue where they will have the testimonial and recognition luncheon.

He said he believes that if the Bacolaodiat is going to have a successful first staging, and becomes a yearly activity to strengthen the cultural ties between the Filipino and the Chinese, there will be better understanding and harmony among the people. "I hope that, together with the rest of the officialdom, we will be able to inculcate in the hearts and minds of our people that this is another celebration that will have an economic impact on the city," he said. Even Tan's involvement is also going to help, somehow, in the future economic landscape of the city, he added. Tan is the second richest Filipino and one of the 500 richest men in the world.*CGS

back to top