BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Following its successful 54th Charter Day painting competition, Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said he plans to hold a similar province-wide competition to help Negrense artists.
“If government can invest in sports, we should also invest on our local artists to give them livelihood,” Escalante, who led the awarding of winners in the Cadiz painting competition, held at the City Arena on July 3, said.
The painting competition was participated in by 65 residents of Cadiz, with landscapes and seascapes of the city as the subjects.
Santiago Onatin, an employee of the Cadiz City Tourism Office, won as champion and received P30,000 as cash prize.
Second place winner was Giovanni Demasu-ay, who received P25,000, Zarek Onatin – 3rd, who got P20,000, Rusty Quiatchon – 4th, P15,000, and Renmar Baring – 5th, P10,000.
Finalists Jessa Bito-on, Norbert Bedejo, Reynard Esperancilla, Romie Silvera, and Christopher John Puerta each received P7,000.
The non-winners, who were supposed to receive P1,000 each, got a surprise when Escalante increased it to P5,000 and judge Suklin Chang added P500.
The maiden competition was initially limited to 40 entries, but it was increased to 60 since many local artists wanted to join it, Escalante said. “Let us continue living through art amid the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.*
