TOMORROW, September 7, Silay City will have a special day for all officials of Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) from the 16 barangays. They will all gather at the Kabataang Silay Rondalla Hall to attend a seminar on “The Role of the Sangguniang Kabataan in the Growth and Development of the Tourism Industry of Silay City.”
The program is part of the Tourism Month Celebration of Silay anchored on the theme, “Tourism and the Digital Transformation.” Mayor Mark Golez will give the inspirational message.
Silay is the “seat of arts, culture, and ecotourism” in Western Visayas. At the turn of the 20th century, Silay was the Paris of Negros. To its credits, Silay is in the Hall of Fame of the Department of Tourism and the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines as the Most Outstanding Tourism-Oriented Local Government Unit in the country for three consecutive years.
Again in 2018, Silay will submit its entries for the Pearl Awards. I was told that the awarding will be held in General Santos. I won my first Most Outstanding Tourism Officer Award there on October 04, 2009. I received the trophy from DOT Secretary Ace Durano. Silay is a consistent winner. We pray for more trophies.
The topic, “The Role of the Sangguniang Kabataan in Nation Building” will be discussed by Director Mia Gatilogo of DILG-Silay. Ma’am Gatilogo is bent on making Silay SK a functional and a model youth organization in Negros Occidental. Nation building calls for commitment and dedication. All the basic requirements have been done already.
The staff of our City Planning and Development Office will explain vividly to our youth leaders “Silay City: Our Goals, Our Vision.” It is best for the youth to identify the goals of the Silaynons in picturing out a clear vision of the near future and that will be our destiny. Tourism will play a vital role considering that Silay is the “gateway” of tourism in Negros. The international airport is in our compound.
Councilor Neil Solomon Locsin, our chairman on Tourism, will give a lecture on “A Closer Look at Silay City’s Unique Heritage and Culture.” The legislator will explain the role of Silay “ilustrados,” sugar industry, arts, religion, and the cohesiveness of the Silaynons in making our city what it is now. We thank Councilor Locsin because he has a direct link with the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts.
I am honored also to have been invited by tourism officer Gerle Sulmaca to talk on the topic, “What We Should Know About Negros and Silay.” I will be talking on the kind of leadership of our early ancestors. Our SK officials should know the complicated structure of Negros haciendas and the beauty of Negrosanon relationship.
Eddie Emilio Osorio of Silay Tourism Office will explain to our young leaders what should be known in Silay in his “Experience Silay.” Raymund Alunan of the Provincial Tourism Office will conduct cemetery tour for our SKs to have the feel on what it is for a Silaynon to be grand in life and in death! That is Silay tourism!