By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
A package addressed to Negros Occidental Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson caused alarm at the Provincial Capitol yesterday morning, with police dispatched to investigate the matter.
According to Lacson, he received a text message a few days ago from shipping company 4A’s Cargo Services, informing him of a package arriving from Long Beach, California in the US.
The vice governor said he initially disregarded the message, which prompted the forwarding company to deliver it at his office at the Provincial Capitol.
When his secretary received the package, Lacson said he immediately researched the sender’s name on the internet and identified him 83-year-old Joe G. Baltazar.
However, when Lacson asked a relative living in the US to contact the sender via telephone, they were unable to reach the person, prompting him to contact the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) to investigate.
The BCPO special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team opened the package and found used clothes, toiletries, mugs, and food items.
Lacson said he does not recall meeting Baltazar previously but he speculated the sender was looking to donate the items to distressed individuals in Negros Occidental and left distribution at the discretion of his office.
He added, the items will be donated to the Bacolod Boy’s Home in Barangay Granada.
Last year, Bacolod City reactivated their “sister city” relationship with Long Beach, with members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod traveling to the California city./DGB, WDJ
