President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (5th from left) at the culminating activity of the MassKara Festival at the Paglaum Stadium on Sunday, October 23.*Ronnie Baldonado photo
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Bacolod’s successful staging of its 43rd MassKara Festival has shown the entire country and world that the Filipino people are ready to return to their normal lives and that the Philippines is on its way back to economic recovery.
Bacolod’s MassKara Festival also serves as an example for the rest of the Philippines, said Marcos, who spoke at a program during the MassKara Festival arena dance competition at the Paglaum Stadium in Bacolod Sunday afternoon, October 23.
Marcos, whose supporters chanted “BBM, BBM” as he entered the stadium, said he will keep his promise to the Filipino people to ensure the continued recovery of the country from the pandemic.
He also congratulated the city officials led by Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and the organizers of the festival for staging what he called “the most successful MassKara in the history of Bacolod”.
Marcos commended the city officials for the Bacolod Comprehensive Health Program and upcoming launch of a Social Pension Fund for Senior Citizens to improve the lives of Bacolodnons.
Marcos, at a MassKara Festival welcome lunch, also said that Philippine tourism is back on track as he cited Filipinos’ resiliency and talent in bringing the country to the path to recovery.
“The pandemic really put us through the wringer, but we are back. The pandemic is fading away. We are learning to manage it,” he said.
“It is time for us to all go back to work, to all go back to our normal lives,” Marcos said.
Benitez said the MassKara Festival shows the resiliency and determination of the Bacolodnons to overcome any crisis or tragedy
The future will be much, much better than where we are right now, he said.
Benitez, in an interview Saturday, said more businesses have expressed interest in investing in Bacolod.
Investors locally and internationally now see Bacolod as haven for business investments, he said.
The message we are trying to give through the MassKara is that the pandemic is over, lets’ get back to our normal lives and move forward, he said.
Senator Francis Tolentino, who was at the Paglaum Stadium Sunday, said the successful MassKara Festival highlights the resurgence not just of tourism in Bacolod but in the entire country.
Bacolod’s MassKara is a hard act to follow, he said.
Also present at the Paglaum Stadium were Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, Rep. Greg Gasataya, Alliance Global Group CEO Kevin Tan and several Bacolod councilors.*