AFTER President Carlos P. Garcia signed Republic Act 1621 making Silay the second town in Negros Occidental to become a city (June 12, 1957) in front of Senator Jose C. Locsin, Representative Carlos Hilado, Representative Jose Puey, Mayor Romulo Golez, and Nicolas Ledesma… he jokingly (or otherwise) said, “Now you have a city. Let is prosper as if it has no competitor.”
President Garcia was not joking. At the inauguration of Jose Rizal Cultural and Civic Center on Aug. 24, 1957 (now Sen. Jose C. Locsin Cultural and Civic Center), Garcia was a participant in the regal dance, “Tanda de Valse,” pairing the beautiful Nenita Ledesma-Golez. That was a dance to remember, that was an affair to treasure, and call to mind on what the Silaynons should do… “to let Silay prosper.”
Since then, Silay has metamorphosed from having been the “Paris of Negros” to becoming the “Seat of Arts and Culture” in Western Visayas, to having been in the Hall of Fame in the Philippines as the most outstanding tourism-oriented local government unit. It is now reaching towards the pinnacle of culinary arts because of its “Kaon Ta Silay Food Festival.”
And now… here comes the economic turning point. On Sept. 14, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation No. 315 registering the Bacolod-Silay Ecozone and Technopark as special ecozone under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza). The ecozone is a 38-hectare land located in Barangay Bagtic, Silay City (near the airport). Peza Director-General Charito Plaza and Golden Dragon Agri-Aqua Corporation president Eric Hernaez had already signed the registration agreement for the said project.
This private group-initiated project, according to Mayor Mark Golez of Silay City, will open new opportunities for the city in terms of tourism, education, business and other related fields. The mayor is certain that this ecozone will significantly boost local economic activities…employment, production, and import-export activities. The facilities will attract more investors from Cebu and other regions to do their business in Negros.
Silaynons expect that Mayor Mark Golez will make use of the “best brains” in the City Hall to come up with an excellent plan to harness human resources in Silay for this challenging opportunity. The facilities will need trained and experienced workers accredited by Tesda.
The Human Resource and the Public Employment Services Office (Peso) head will be there to submit the updated list of qualified Silaynons who would fit for the job. The city investment officer will take frontline to scrutinize big time investors who will flock city hall for their business approval. By this time, we will have attractive investment portfolio to offer.
Traffic flow and facilities in Silay should be further improved to anticipate more vehicles coming in and going out of Silay. There will be collaboration with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the expansion of roads and safety nets should be provided to ensure perfect traffic flow. More policemen and traffic enforcers will be detailed in strategic places for the safety of the commuters and the public.
The area of stability in the facility perimeter should be maintained by providing support structures and system that would enhance the ecozone and the technopark. Construction of more hotels and other tourism-related establishments in the sustained area should be considered because more businessmen and tourists are expected to stay longer in Silay. Bacolod City may be too far from the facilities and Bacolod has to cope also with its own traffic problem. Construction business in Silay will be at its sunrise.
The economic engineers of Silay may focus on the power supply concern.
The Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) should now find means with the assistance of national agencies to improve and maximize power supply. The power interruption problem should be totally eradicated.
Our Silay City Water Works Administration (Siciwa) should double its best effort this time. I know that the Golden Dragon Agri-Aqua Corporation will make use of our Malisbog-Imbang Rivers to have adequate water supply. The possible utilization of modern solar system should be considered.
Our colleges and universities in Silay, Talisay and Bacolod should really be tapped so that their graduates could be tailored to the needs of the economic zone and the technopark. The facilities in Silay will open new floodgates for our products and the varied merchandise coming from other countries. This economic boom may overtake what we have prepared for Silay and its neighbors.
Mayor Golez may need the cooperation and commitment of our congressman, other mayors, and the provincial officials. This is one big project in Silay that our local officials cannot afford to neglect.
Our international airport needs to have additional flights. We need to have competent workers, more excellent facilities and additional runway.
The airport may not be able to accommodate the outgoing and incoming goods and passengers after 10 years. We have to make an early plan for the seaport of international standards in Silay. The economic experts of the city should come up with a blueprint of a long-term plan that will be good for the next 50 years. This is a herculean task ahead of us. We need also herculean officials and planners to do the job.
Silay city officials, the planners, the advisers, the executive assistants, the consultants, the department heads, and the “expected” Silay Chamber of Commerce and Industry can always put their acts together to assist Golden Dragon Agri-Aqua Corporation and the investors in the ecozone-technopark.
God bless us.
“This is prosperity”… President Carlos P. Garcia. Keep it up President Eric Hernaez! Be with us all the way Peza! (I also appreciate some bright ideas coming from “La Mesa de la Libertad”).