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BY MAE SINGUAY
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January 30, 2018
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BACOLOD City – Mayor Evelio “Bing” Leonardia congratulated Iloilo City mayor Joe Espinosa III and the people of Iloilo for the successful celebration of the 50th Dinagyang Festival.
Leonardia also thanked Espinosa and Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation, Inc. chairman Ramon Locsin for personally inviting him to the festival.
“That is why I felt obliged to go there,” Leonardia said. “There were so many big people (in Dinagyang Festival). They have a very big crowd.”
Leonardia added that he saw “business in action” during the festival, citing the Smallville entertainment complex in Mandurriao district.
“I have seen how vibrant their city is,” he stressed.
Leonardia said he and Espinosa were friends even before they entered politics.
According to Leonardia, he introduced to Espinosa the acceleration of the sisterhood project between Iloilo and Bacolod.
Leonardia said, “We need each other. We can benefit from each other. After all, we (him and Espinosa) are blood brothers.”
The sisterhood project between the cities started in 2011, under the leadership of Leonardia and former Iloilo City mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.
Leonardia said he also wants to develop the old airport in Bacolod, like the one in Iloilo City which is now a business district.
The case is not totally the same for the two old airports, though.
Leonardia said the Iloilo City government owns the 70-hectare lot where the old airport was located.
In Bacolod, the Philippine Airlines owns more than half of the 38-hectare old airport, he added.
Moreover, Leonardia and City Administrator John Orola met with businesspersons Lucio Tan and his son Michael.
According to Leonardia, he and Orola told the Tans that it’s time to develop the southern part of the city.
In response, Michael told them that he will make a master plan for the development project in the area.
“We are catching up. We are making Iloilo City some kind of benchmark para mabal-an ta man aton growth,” Leonardia said.
This year, the annual budget of Bacolod is P2.250 billion while Iloilo City, P2.238 billion./PN
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