By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said the city is being considered for another Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) event, according to Cecilia Villanueva of the National Organizing Committee, following the conclusion of the Senior Officials Responsible for Information (SOMRI) meetings at the SMX Convention Center at SM City Bacolod.
According to the mayor, delegates told him the event was well-organized and well-managed.
“I told them Bacolod is the City of Smiles so, if they want us to keep smiling, they should come back,” Leonardia said.
Meanwhile, ASEAN Security Task Force (ASTF) commander, Police Director Napoleon Taas, released a report crediting the city for a successful event.
“What we witnessed in the City of Smiles is a whole of government in cooperation and working like never before,” he said.
Police Regional Office-18 (PRO-18) Director, Police Chief Superintendent Renato Gumban, said the two-day meeting was peaceful, and thanked the public for their cooperation.
He said there was no recorded incident throughout the Negros Island Region (NIR), especially in Bacolod City, during the meetings./WDJ