MEMBERS of the Municipal Council of Aringay, La Union, were impressed with the business development of Bacolod City.

The Aringay officials, headed by Vice Mayor Jacqueline Chan, paid a courtesy call to Mayor Evelio Leonardia at the Government Center on Monday, April 16, as part of their three-day Lakbay Aral in Negros Occidental.

Chan said the vice mayor of Toboso invited them to visit Bacolod.

"It's a benchmarking. We wanted to see how Bacolod developed and we wanted to see how to sell different products of Negros Occidental," she said.

She added they are also promoting their organic products like red and black rice, oysters, mushrooms, and bangus.

Aringay is a second-class municipality in the province of La Union.

According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 47,458 people. Aringay is 244 kilometers from Manila and 25 kilometers from San Fernando, the provincial capital.

The Aringay Municipal Council members said they are just curious as to why Bacolod has this potential with regards to business development considering that it is far away from Manila.

"We are informed that it's because of the business-friendly of the city and its tax incentives. We are interested in coming here because of the booming business of Bacolod and we want to adapt it," one official said.

For his part, Leonardia said he was flattered and imitation is the best form of flattery.

"We are very flattered that they came for that purpose. They are not the only ones that come here for that purpose. They are always welcome and we will try always to see to it that we, the city, can live up to the expectations of these visitors and we do not want to disappoint them," he said.