(Front row, from left) City Councilor Renecito Novero; City Administrator John Orola; Bacolod City First Lady Elsa Leonardia; Mayor Evelio Leonardia; Dr. Ernesto Palanca, representing his brother Atty. Simplicio Palanca; Atty. Omar Francis Demonteverde, representing his father Franklin Demonteverde; former Senator Alberto Romulo; Conchita Sicangco; Armando Guevarra; Bacolod Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya; Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran; and City Councilors Cindy Rojas and Bartolome Orola during the recent distribution of the Ang Banwahanon Awards. (PIO photo)Past Ang Banwahanon Awards winners City Administrator John Orola, Shirley Ledesma, Joel ‘Bagguer’ Villaluz, Sr., Modesto Sa-onoy; alongside current winners Atty. Omar Francis Demonteverde, representing his father Franklin Demonteverde, and Armando Guevarra pose with former Senator Alberto Romulo (fourth from left) and Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia (fifth from left) during the recent distribution of the Ang Banwahanon Awards. (PIO photo)Former Senator Alberto Romulo delivered the keynote address at the Ang Banwahanon Awards ceremony at the Bacolod City Government Center, recently. (PIO photo)Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia addressed city officials, awardees, and guests at the Ang Banwahanon Awards ceremony at the Bacolod City Government Center, recently. (PIO photo)(From left) Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, former Senator Alberto Romulo, and Bacolod Lone District Rep. Greg Gasataya chat outside the Bacolod City Government Center prior to the recent Ang Banwahanon Awards ceremony.
The founder of Bob’s Restaurant, Conchita Sicangco, was one of four recipients of this year’s Ang Banwahanon award, the highest honor given by the Bacolod City government to outstanding citizens.
Also recognized were Franklin Demonteverde, founder of the Negrense 200 Foundation, Inc.; Armando Guevarra, organizer of the Negros Kabarkada Painters Association, Inc. (NEPAKA); and Atty. Simplicio Palanca, whose greatest contribution to the city is the 250-hectare port and reclamation project.
Sicangco’s contribution to the city is said to be the preservation of Bacolod City’s cultural heritage through culinary arts; Demonteverde’s foundation has helped the local poor attain an education through scholarships; Guevarra’s organization has helped provide local commercial and industrial painters with free technical and vocational skills training; and Palanca’s innovation has shaped the economic landscape of the city by creating countless jobs and generating millions of pesos in tax revenues.
All recipients were officially awarded on Sunday, June 17./WDJ
