Wednesday, November 12, 2008 Boys home board to meet on Nov. 13
THE governing board of the Bacolod City Boys Home is set to convene on November 13, said Goldwyn Nifras, secretary of Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia.
Nifras said the decision to create a governing board was an offshoot of the series of talks with Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra, the Bacolod Boys Home Foundation (BBHF), Don Bosco and the Bacolod Boys Home (BBH).
He hopes the governing board will not put to rest various issues regarding the ownership and operation of the BBH.
The board was formed to set the policies and guidelines for the continuous and improved operation of the BBH, including the mechanics for the monitoring and evaluation of the operation and personality activity.
Leonardia heads the board as chairman and Councilors Celia Matea Flor, chair of the City Council committee on family and child care development; and Homer Bais, chair of the committee on social services, as vice chairmen.
Leonardia recalled that in the late 50s, the number of crime incidents involving minors had increased and those minors who were arrested by the Bacolod Police Office were locked in jail along with adult offenders.
City Council Resolution 1574-1965 was then enacted with the purpose of taking under its fold orphaned, abandoned and neglected boys of Bacolod City; insuring a home atmosphere for them and adopting balanced programs for personality development and vocational preparedness.
The City Government provided a regular budget for the operation of the BBH but it was later found to be insufficient considering the needs of the boys for food, clothing and education.
The BBH was constructed in Barangay Granada in the late 1950s with Rev. Fr. Gratian Murray as the administrator.
Leonardia said in 1987, upon the appeal of Fr. Gratian to well-intentioned citizens of Bacolod City, the BBHF was organized to help the BBH access the needed donations and in the words of Fr. Gratian: "To advice us with regard our financial matters so that we can be properly trained".
Fr. Gratian had requested, subsequently, that the University of St. La Salle, through its then president Bro. Gus Boquer and the Bacolod Boys Home Foundation Incorporated (BBHFI), the Salesian Brothers of Don Bosco South Province came in with the understanding that they would be the ones who will run the institution, Leonardia added.
Several memoranda of agreement relative of the administration of the BBH were then proposed by USLS and the BBFI to previous city administrations but no agreement was ever consummated.
The present stakeholders in the operation of the BBH, the city government of Bacolod, USLS BBHFI and the Salesian Brothers of Don Bosco are desirous of sustaining and improving the operation of the BBH, the mayor added. (Merlinda Pedrosa)
