By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Former Bacolod City Mayor Jose Montalvo passed away yesterday at the age of 91. Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said, “Bacolod is blessed to have him as one of her sons.”
“The former mayor is gone, but he will never be forgotten,” Leonardia said. “He will be smiling, dancing, drinking, eating, and, all told, having fun with us each time the MassKara Festival rolls into the city.”
Montalvo is credited with organizing the first MassKara Festival, which was established in response to the sinking of the M/V Don Juan, where his wife, two kids, and in-laws perished, in an effort to “bring the smiles back to the local populace.”
The late mayor also oversaw the visit of Pope John Paul II during his visit to Bacolod City in 1981.
Leonardia called him an “immortal.”/WDJ