His dream, thanks to neophyte 3rd district Congressman Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales Jr., now begins to turn into reality.
The House of Representatives has passed the bill that seeks to fully rehabilitate the gradually recuperating lahar-buried town.
Cong Dong's House Bill (HB) 3389, known by its short title as the "Bacolor Rehabilitation Council Act," was unanimously passed by members of the House on third and final reading last February 19 and forwarded to the Senate last February 21.
The full title of the measure is "An act creating the Bacolor Rehabilitation Council and appropriating funds therefore."
It substituted Cong Dong's HB 1624 (An Act establishing a special fund for the rehabilitation of Bacolor, Pampanga and mandating the National Government and selected government corporations to allocate funds for such purpose), which he filed on July 31 last year.
Our neophyte congressman deserves to be applauded, not only for his good intention but also for his ability to convince his colleagues in the Lower Chamber to approve his bill.
He filed HB 3389 last January 8. It was referred to the House Committee on Rules and passed first reading with recommendation for approval from the Appropriations Committee on January 29. It passed second reading on February 6 and third and final reading on February 19.
The voting result: 200 congressmen voted in favor of the bill, nobody voted against it, and no one abstained.
Cong Dong said a minimum of P1 billion is needed to fully rehabilitate Bacolor, formerly being referred to as the "Athens of Pampanga."
For the past several years the neophyte congressman, who used to be a board member of his district, was able to initiate various infrastructure projects in Bacolor.
Through him, former Senator Juan Flavier and Senator Loren Legarda had infused multi-million pesos worth of projects in the town.
Bacolor, known to townsfolk as Baculud, was the bastion of Spaniards' power as they fought the British forces in 1762 to 1763.
When the British fleet bombarded the City of Manila in 1762, Archbishop and Governor-General Manuel Rojo ordered his right-hand man, Simon de Anda, to transfer the seat of government to Bacolor, carry with him substantial part of the Royal treasure, and raise an army to resist the British forces.
Anda proclaimed himself as governor-general upon the capture of Manila. From his base in Bacolor, he was able to thwart all moves by the British invaders to gain complete control of the Philippines.
In July 1770, the King of Spain formally appointed him as the governor-general of the Philippines. The town proved to be an ideal nerve center for the Spaniards' military operations against the British forces because of its strategic location.
Bacolor was the provincial capital of Pampanga for 150 years (1754 to 1904). It is the hometown of a number of famous Kapampangan men of letters, poets, statesmen, men of justice, and philanthropists.
The town was a place where trade and commerce flourished. The oldest trade school in Asia, now known as the Don Honorio Ventura Memorial College of Arts and Trades, was founded in the town sometime in 1861.
