BACOLOD CITY — The cities of Bacolod and Silay in Negros Occidental are gearing up for sisterhood ties with the cities of Angeles and Mabalacat in Pampanga, respectively.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia on Monday said he proposed an agreement with Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan when they met during the National Executive Board meeting of the League of Cities of the Philippines in Clark, Pampanga last week.
“I told Mayor Ed Pamintuan that we should have a sisterhood agreement. We already have flights between Bacolod and Clark so it’s very convenient. He is also a personal friend. We were mayors together as early as 1995,” he said.
“It will create more traffic between the two destinations,” the mayor added.
Leonardia shared the plan as Bacolod hosted a lunch for officials from Mabalacat led by Vice Mayor Christian Halili at the Bacolod City Government Center on Monday.
The vice mayor headed a group of more than 100 officials, department heads, and guests from Mabalacat who are visiting Negros Occidental until Wednesday.
Halili said he and Silay City Mayor Mark Golez met Monday morning when they had a verbal agreement to establish sisterhood ties between their cities.
“Mabalacat is the gateway to Luzon. Ninety-three percent of Clark air base falls within the territorial jurisdiction of Mabalacat. If you’re going to Subic, Tarlac and Baguio, you would usually pass by Mabalacat,” he added.
Both the Clark International Airport and the Clark Freeport Zone are located in Mabalacat.
Halili further said that like Bacolod, they wanted to build a government center to bring all their city government offices together.
“We can do the same… so that the people will have a one-stop-shop,” he added.
Halili noted that as an official of the legislative department, he was impressed by the session hall of the Bacolod City Council and the individual offices of the city councilors.
“We hope could do the same to our city,” the vice mayor added.
The partnership between Negros Occidental and Pampanga was formalized last December when their respective Governors Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Lilia Pineda signed a sisterhood agreement to strengthen economic and trade relations.
The event coincided with the maiden flights of the Bacolod-Pampanga-Bacolod route of the Philippine Airlines. (Nanette Guadalquiver/PNA)
