THE City Government of Bacolod is mourning the death of Atty. Simplicio Palanca, the founder of the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corporation (Bredco).
Councilor Renecito Novero on Sunday, July 11, 2021, said Palanca, 98, died on Saturday in a hospital in Bacolod City.
“We’re really saddened by his demise, it’s a sad reality. He is very generous and historic man,” he said.
He added that Palanca developed the 250 hectares reclamation and five hectares port projects in Bacolod City that provided job opportunities and tourism windows to the City of Bacolod, noting that the development of Bredco has transformed the physical and economic landscape of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental.
Fondly called by his friends and critics as “the old man by the sea,” Palanca began to work and reclaim the foreshore areas of Bacolod in 1961 despite his critics calling it a highly ambitious project.
Novero said they are hopeful that Palanca’s legacy would be remembered and the city owed him so much.
“He is heroic. He served like my second father. He was a very close friend to me and to my whole family as well as to my father,” he said.
Novero added that Palanca’s brother Dr. Ernesto Palanca also died on Monday.
Novero also served as a lawyer of Palanca family.