Good night, Joseph

They interred his remains yesterday at the family mausoleum in Sagay. But Gov. Joseph Marañon’s memory will long be remembered by Negrenses who consider him as the “best governor” the province ever had.

A lot of the high regard by Negrenses stemmed from the fact that the thrice-mayor of Sagay City remained a soft-spoken person who was not gifted with rhetorical prowess but spoke the language of the ordinary man. Thus, he was considered by most as a very approachable person.

And he was known for his knack of going right into the heart of a problem presented to immediately grasp the import of a suggested course of action. And forewith, Gov. Joseph immediately made a fast decision when he saw that it was something doable. He did not mince words nor got bogged down on bureaucratic studies.

It may not have been known by most, but one of the achievements of Marañon was the increased palay output of the province. It may not have made the province self-sufficient in the primary staple, but it narrowed the gap between need and production.

He also laid the groundwork for the expansion of the cattle industry and the piggery dispersal program of the province. He made it possible for the first time for the local dairy industry to feed hundreds of malnourished children with fresh milk daily from the provincial dairy farm in La Carlota.

But more important, he restored the provincial capitol to its pre-war fame as the best architecture of its kind. This was abandoned briefly after Martial Law when then former Gov. Alfredo Montelibano Jr. had the Provincial Administration Center built to house the increasing number of government offices.

But Marañon realized that the province needed a symbol of provincial authority. And he had the former capitol refurbished and restored to its pre-war symbol as the hub of activities.

Thus, today, the capitol stands as a beacon to every Negrense. A place where they can bring to their problems, complaints and their requests for assistance and aid.

Another thing Marañon left as his legacy was the Negros Museum. This was constructed from the previous agriculture building. And it now houses a trove of the province’s history and cultural artifacts.

But it is Mambukal that stands out as the symbol of Marañon’s businessman’s instinct. Once consigned to almost complete abandonment, he had it rebuilt, ejected the illegal settlers within the township. And with the help of local government units, had it rebuilt and now it boasts as the fastest earning economic venture of the province.

But his most daring decision was the ejection of illegal settlers from the sprawling provincial lot behind the provincial capitol. That earned him criticism from the city government. But the governor, then, had already a resettlement site in Mansilingan or the squatters. Many of these even had their homes in the area rented out. But he invited the Gawad Kalinga and, over-riding objections by the city government and the squatters, themselves, he finally convinced them that their new site in Mansilingan will not deprive them of their means of livelihood.

Now the area, for the moment, has become the center of organic farming and is now earning income where it used to be non-productive.

Later, he also sold the former site of the Negros Occidental Tennis Association to what is now the 888. In short, this was a project that earned the province money but also proved a boon to Bacolod and turned over to the city coffers large sums of money in terms of and taxes and other taxes for what used to be the playground of a handful of city residents.

More important, because he was non-confrontational, Marañon managed to disarm even his opponents and introduced into the province reconciliation and harmony so that when he ran for reelection he had no major opponent. Instead, there was only grudging admiration for the man who preached mutual cooperation for the entire province.

Well, there were a lot more he did. But these are things that could be written about later. History will prove kinder to Marañon than just the memory of the Negrenses he left behind as orphans. But then he made sure that he left them with Gov. Isidro Zayco, a man of the same bent as he. In short, we are in safe hands.

***

I was one of the few Negrenses, who expressed our reservations about the Pacman’s latest triumph over Juan Manuel Marquez. Yesterday, I had a talk with several who expressed the same misgivings as myself about the bout which Pacman won by a split decision.

But that does not mean that we don’t also find ourselves gratified by Pacquiao’s victory, though not convincing.

***

Anyway, one may not have realized that even the University of Santo Tomas in Manila have started to express reservations about Rodolfo “Noel” Lozada, Jr. as a national hero.

In their latest press release, UST officials simply admitted that he was a Thomasian. But they did not consider him as hero.*

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