IN BACOLOD
65th Lions convention May 22-25

The 65th Multiple District Convention of the Lions Clubs International will be held in Bacolod City on May 22-25, with its president, Joseph Preston, from Arizona, USA, as keynote speaker, a press release from the club said.

Preston, a member of the Bradshaw Mountain Lions Club in Arizona, is in his 40th year as a Lion. He was elected international first vice president at the association’s 96th international convention in Hamburg, Germany, in July 2013. He will be accompanied in Bacolod by his wife, Joni.

The world's largest service club organization has 1.35 million members in 207 countries worldwide, with around 13,000 members in the Philippines. The annual national convention will be the first to be held in Bacolod after 21 years, the last one being in 1993, the press release also said.

Bacolod City Councilor Em Ang, chair of the Multiple District 301 Philippines, said the convention will kick off on Thursday with a welcome night at The Ruins in Talisay City, Negros Occidental. About 2,500 Lions Club members and their families are expected to attend the convention, and will be in Bacolod for a week.

Most of the delegates will arrive as early as today, since there is a golf tournament at the Marapara Golf and Country Club, and other pre-convention activities. One highlight of the convention will be the election of officers of the nine Lions districts in the Philippines, to be held at the St. John’s Institute, the press release said.

Plenary sessions will be held at the Osbron Hall, Ikthus Center, while the proclamation night and governor’s ball will be conducted at the L’Fisher Hotel.

Meanwhile, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod approved a resolution proposed by councilors Ang, Roberto Rojas and Caesar Distrito, to declare May 19-25, as Lions’ Week in Bacolod City.

Ang is the highest ranking Lions officer in the Philippines and the first woman to occupy the post in the 65-year history of Lionism in the country. The only other Negrense to have been elected to this position was Francisco Rojas in 1962-1963, grandfather of councilor Rojas, the past president of the Occidental Negros Host Lions Club.
Distrito is the president-elect of the Bacolod City Host Lions Club, the press release also said.

The Lions have been conducting outreach missions in the community, including the distribution of free eyeglasses, tree planting, and feeding program, the press release added.*

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Feeding program
helps 50,000 kids

The feeding program of Bacolod Vice Mayor Greg Gasataya since June as part of his PLAN 3GGG, benefited around 50,000 students of schools and daycare centers, and street children, a press release from his office said.

A poorly nourished child is expected to also be poor mentally and physically, one of the reasons for dropping out of school. The child gets sick easily because of anemia due to poor intake of protein and high-energy giving foods, the press release also said.

The feeding program is in response to the call of the government to address malnutrition problems, the press release added.*

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Fishermen get boats

Thirty-five fishing boats were given by the PLDT-Smart Foundation to fisher folk affected by super-typhoon “Yolanda” in Roxas City, Capiz during the “CAPIZtahan 2014” recently, a press release from the group said.

The donation was made after the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery designated the MVP Group Tulong Kapatid as the development sponsor of the province in the aftermath of Yolanda, the press release also said.

The coastal towns of President Roxas, Pilar, Pontevedra, Panay, Ivisan, Sapian, and Roxas City, all of Capiz, were all affected by the super-typhoon that hit the Visayas in November. PLDT Group and PSF chairman, Manuel Pangilinan, committed to help the coastal communities recover and get back on their feet after Yolanda, as many fishermen lost their boats and livelihoods.

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