MANILA, Philippines - Mayor Evelio Leonardia has expressed confidence that Bacolod City will have brighter prospects with the economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“The integration of our country with nine other nations will mean that our horizons will widen, the playing field will be expanded and we will have a new political and economic order,” Leonardia said during the ASEAN landmark lighting ceremony at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) on Aug. 8.
Bacolod was among the 74 local government units and the BCGC among the landmarks chosen by the Department of the Interior and Local Government to participate in the nationwide lighting ceremonies to celebrate ASEAN’s 50th founding anniversary.
The ceremony also featured a 1,000-voice choir composed of students from the city’s public elementary and high schools. The children were dressed in white and carried white balloons.
“I believe ASEAN will expand our territories and will enhance our culture, customs and traditions. For sure, it will bring opportunities as well as challenges for everyone,” Leonardia said.
He said they would launch a massive information and education campaign in the city to ”see to it that consciousness of our participation in the ASEAN is heightened.”
Leonardia said they are honored to be a participant at the historic event, noting that the Department of Foreign Affairs acknowledged Bacolod as the first local government unit to declare interest in ASEAN integration.
“We must position Bacolod to prepare for ASEAN integration, which means a new economic order that could provide us opportunities as well as new challenges,” he said.