• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Once a hotbed of insurgency 40 years ago, the municipality of Don Salvador Benedicto is now the top tourist destination of Negros Occidental, Mayor Marxlen dela Cruz disclosed yesterday.
Dela Cruz, who led yesterday celebrations marking the 40th founding anniversary of Don Salvador Benedicto, disclosed that the municipality is now a favorite destination, especially during weekends, where many resorts and coffee shops have been established in the past several years.
Unlike before, where the road was dangerous for travelers, it is now concreted, and the peace and order situation has been normalized, over the past decades.
During the 1980s, Don Salvador Benedicto used to be the site of many gun battles between government forces and the New People’s Army.
Husband and wife, Nehemias and Cynthia dela Cruz, used to be activists during the Martial Law days, and later on served as mayor of Don Salvador Benedicto, which has been regarded as the summer capital of Negros Occidental because of its cool weather and scenic spots.
In marking the 40th founding anniversary, Marxlen, the son of Nehemias and Cynthia, said “it is very emotional for us, since many Salvadorians has sacrificed a lot, even their lives, to make the town peaceful, and what it is today.”
On February 3, Mayor dela Cruz said they will honor and to pay tribute to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and National Police, as well as those in national and local government agencies, who are now mostly retired.
We should be grateful to them, for making Don Salvador Benedicto what it is today, he stressed.
The town is also marking its 30th Kali-Kalihan Harvest Festival, which opened yesterday with the Agri Trade Fair and Pista sa Banwa Food Fair, and Diwata sang Kali pre-pageant night.*
