BACOLOD City – The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) here has called the attention of concerned government offices following the reported loss of the brass marker of the Tindalo tree planted by then President Manuel L. Quezon at the Bacolod Public Plaza on October 19, 1938.
In a resolution approved by the SP last week, it urged the immediate search, recovery, or replacement of the missing marker in recognition of its historical significance to Bacolod’s Charter Day, celebrated every June 18.
Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr., chairperson of the SP Committee on History and author of the resolution, said the council is directing the City Tourism Office (CTO), City Engineer’s Office (CEO), Bacolod Environment and Natural Resources Office (BENRO), General Services Office (GSO), and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to take appropriate action.
These offices are tasked to verify the loss, initiate search and recovery efforts, and, if the marker proves irretrievable, facilitate its proper restoration or replacement.
Gamboa said the brass marker once stood at the base of the Tindalo tree planted by President Quezon during the “Inauguration of Bacolod as a Chartered City” on October 19, 1938 — an event that marked a defining moment in the city’s political and civic history.
“The Tindalo tree symbolized Bacolod’s strength, endurance, and hope for progress,” he said, adding that the marker bore an inscription commemorating President Quezon’s visit and the cityhood inauguration date.
For decades, the brass marker served as a tangible testament to Bacolod’s Charter Day and a vital artifact of the city’s living history and heritage.
The councilor lamented the disappearance of the marker, saying it deprives present and future generations of Bacolodnons of an important piece of their historical identity.
“The loss of such a significant historical marker is a serious cultural and historical concern that warrants immediate attention and action from concerned agencies,” he said.
He further emphasized that the marker was not merely ornamental but served as solid documentary proof that Bacolod was officially inaugurated as a chartered city on October 19, 1938, under the leadership of President Manuel L. Quezon./PN
