MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/06 June) – Governor-elect Jose Ma. R. Zubiri Jr. announced Wednesday that the first executive order he will sign when he assumes again the post on July 1 is the creation of the province’s centennial foundation committee.
He said the body will take charge of preparations for Bukidnon’s centennial on September 1, 2014.
Zubiri, who is the incumbent vice governor, said they are looking at a month-long celebration.
“It happens only once in a lifetime, we want to make this an unforgettable event,” he added.
Zubiri, said they have a little more than a year to prepare and they need the help of other sectors.
He asked Catalino Chan III, Department of Tourism-Region 10 director, to help the province in the preparations.
Chan, who attended Wednesday’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) session presided by Zubiri to appraise the body on tourism policies and programs, vowed to endorse a DOT official to sit in the centennial foundation committee.
Zubiri said he will also ask the multi-national corporations operating in the province for monetary donations.
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has ruled that the province’s founding anniversary is on September 1, not March 10 as had been the practice until 2012.
The SP earlier passed a resolution, authored by board member Nemesio Beltran Jr, supporting the NHCP’s findings that the province was created on September 1, 1914 under Commission Act 2408, not on March 10, 1917.
Zubiri said that in 2014, the Kaamulan will also be celebrated in September. (Walter I. Balane/MindaNews)