About 60 mayors from all over the country have confirmed their attendance at the 50 th National Executive Board meeting of the League of Cities of the Philippines to be held in Bacolod October 19 to 21, Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said yesterday.

Leonardia, who is the executive vice president of the LCP, said he met with some mayors from Negros Occidental Monday regarding the expanded board meeting to be held at the L'Fisher Hotel, and they received confirmation from Manila that about 60 mayors are coming.

Incidentally, this is the only time they are holding a board meeting in the midst of a festival, he said.

Leonardia said they will continue to observe October 19 as a holiday in Bacolod since the law that has made it a holiday has not yet been repealed.

Meanwhile, he also said, the main event of the MassKara Festival is the streetdance and arena competition.

MassKara has not only given Bacolod an identity, but it has become an icon of the Philippines when it was recognized internationally by CNN and had participated in international festivals, he said.

Leonardia said “It became a bond that has kept us together as a people because if we can work as a team, there is much that we can accomplish.”

“It is also because all these awards and achievements bestowed upon Bacolod are validations that we can make us say that the city has economically grown from the material point of view, in physical and infrastructure,” he said.

Leonardia said that despite what his political opponents are saying that Bacolod did not grow, the facts and figures and the realities will vouch for his claims that Bacolod is a bigger and better city than it was in 2004.

This is because the past five years have shown that in the basic foundations – peace and order, health concerns, infrastructure and a healthy business climate have been put in – all of which were possible because of everybody's cooperation, he said.

“So the MassKara Festival will always remind us that if we only cooperate with each other, there is so much we can do for our city,” Leonardia said.

That is the kind of spirit that will make the MassKara and Bacolod surge ahead, he said.

Leonardia said the theme of this year's 33 rd MassKara Festival is “Life is Good in Bacolod.”

Compared to others, all facts, figures and statistics point out that Bacolod has really become an ideal combination of old and new, the rural and the urban, and its people have the best of both worlds, he said.

Leonardia said “We have the amenities and facilities of a modern city and at the same time we have the ambiance of a rural setting.”

He believes that life in Bacolod is better than in any other place, he said

“Even the MassKara Festival is symbolic of who we are as a people,” he added.*CGS

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