By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – The Sangguniang Panlungsod of this city cited outgoing Mayor Evelio Leonardia for his contributions and service to the city government during the 84th Charter Day celebration on June 18,2022.
The SP headed by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran presented to Leonardia Resolution No. 441 that expressed the Sanggunian’s profound affection, respect, admiration and gratitude to the mayor for his quintessential record of service to the city and for being, as of date, the longest serving chief executive of Bacolod.
Leonardia was elected Bacolod mayor for a record-setting 18 years starting in 1995-1998, 2004-2013 and 2016-2022.
Leonardia started his government career as a tourism executive and co-founder of the now world-famous MassKara Festival.
He voluntarily stepped down from that position to run in the first local elections under the 1986 Philippine Constitution and won as no. 1 councilor.
To date, the mayor also holds the unparalleled record for being the only person to have been elected to all the city elective offices: Councilor (1986-1992), Vice Mayor (1992-1995) and Congressman (2013-2016).
“Mayor Bing, has veered Bacolod City to a paradigm shift from a sugar-dependent economy to a dynamic center of commerce and industry which gravitated newer and richer business investments from various key economic players in the country and magnified Bacolod’s economy to quantum leap potentials evidenced by the multi-billion peso worth of structures which have mushroomed in its various Barangays, thus massively transforming its physical landscape, vibrantly stirring its economic propensities and providing more business and employment opportunities to the people of Bacolod,” the resolution said.
Resolution No. 441 also recognized the hallmarks of the Leonardia administration such as the construction of the New Government Center in 2007, the establishment of the Bacolod City College, the 88-hectare relocation site in Barangay Vista Alegre and, most recently, the distinct pride of being one of the few LGUs in the country to have been placed under Alert Level 1 by the NIATF.
It also mentioned several infrastructure projects of Leonardia such as the rehabilitation of the three main public markets, the establishment of the Bacolod City Medical Center that will house the Bacolod City Hospital in Barangay Vista Alegre, as well as his “qualitative managerial dedication” that shaped Bacolod into a multi-awarded city and the distinction as the only Mayor of Bacolod City to be elected as National President of the League of Cities of the Philippines.
“As servant leader, he has impacted the lives of many in the city of Bacolod in ways that certainly are worth commending and remembering,” according to the SP resolution signed by Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran.
