BACOLOD CITY ,Philippines — More than 2,000 officials and employees of the provincial government are expected to receive an anniversary bonus soon after the Provincial Board approved a resolution for this purpose.
The resolution was made on the premise that the province of Occidental Negros (Western Negros) had turned over 100 years old.
The anniversary bonus was pursuant to Local Budget Circular No. 65 dated March 3, 1997, said Ernie Magaspag of the Provincial Legal Office in his memorandum to Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr.
The memorandum, which was approved by the governor, was for the review of proposed amendment on the legal and factual basis of the Milestone Year of the Province of Occidental Negros as proposed by the Progressive Alliance of Capitol Employees (PACE).
Magaspag asserted that the real and official date of the creation of Occidental Negros was on May 1, 1901 and not March 10, 1917.
He cited historical books such as the "Negros Occidental Between Two Foreign Powers (1888-1909)" published by the Negros Occidental Historical Commission, and "History of Occidental Negros" Second Edition by Modesto Sa-onoy, considered the leading Negros history writer.
From its creation as a province in 1901, Occidental Negros had turned 110 years last May.