TACLOBAN CITY—Three local government units (LGUs) in Eastern Visayas joined the nationwide landmark-lighting activity on August 8 in observance of the golden anniversary of the Asean held by host country, the Philippines.
The municipality of Palo and the cities of Ormoc and Tacloban, all in Leyte province, completed the 50 LGUs in the country that simultaneously lit a landmark lantern at 7 p.m. on August 8.
The city government of Tacloban, spearheaded by Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez, lined up various activities to include division poster and slogan-making contest, Asean Quiz bee and Asean street parade around the main streets of the city.
Romualdez declared the suspension of classes at all levels in anticipation of heavy traffic caused by the parade in major city thoroughfares.
Cash prizes, certificates and trophies awaited the winners of the various contests and participants of the parade, where special awards would be given, such as Best in Costume, Best in Attendance and Jolliest Group.
Aside from Tacloban, various activities were expected in the municipality of Palo under Mayor Remedios L. Petilla and Ormoc City under Mayor Richard Gomez.
The highlight of the day was the Landmark Lantern Lighting in 50 places in the country. In Tacloban the lantern lighting was held in Kanhuraw Hill, where the city hall is located; in Palo, at the foot of McArthur Landing Monument; and in Ormoc, at the old City Hall that is now being converted into a museum.
The Asean landmark lantern was designed by Pampanga artist Arvin Quiwa. It measures 6 feet (1.83 meters) in diameter with 80 pieces of incandescent bulbs and is made of fiberglass.
Its design features the national leaf anahaw, the national flower sampaguita and the traditional Mindanao sailboat vinta. It has the flags of the 10 Asean member-states at the back. The lanterns would be mounted in the 50 sites until November 2017.
The Asean was established on August 8, 1967, in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the Asean Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by its founding members, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on January 7, 1984; Vietnam on July 28, 1995; the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar on July 23, 1997, and Cambodia on April 30, 1999, making up what is today the 10 member-states of Asean.