The late Negros Occidental governor Daniel “Bitay” Lacson Jr. was honored on Tuesday by the Provincial Board and the Capitol Government Employees (Capgem) Community Multi-Purpose Cooperative for his significant contributions to the development of the province.
Lacson, who succumbed to a lingering illness on September 6 at the age of 77, was appointed by then-president Corazon Aquino as the post-EDSA governor and led Negros Occidental from 1986 to 1992.
He later served as the chairman of the Philippine National Bank and the Government Service Insurance System.
The former governor’s ashes were brought to the Provincial Capitol Social Hall, where a mass and a tribute were held in the presence of the Lacson family led by his widow Tima and son Patrick, a former board member of the Third District.
The Provincial Board, said in a resolution, that “during his years of service, Governor Bitay, a visionary leader, engineered the recovery and rehabilitation program of the provincial government under the battle cry “Hope Shines in Negros” and “steered the province to recovery as he pushed for diversification from being dependent on the sugar industry.”
The Capgem Community Multi-Purpose Cooperative also honored Lacson as the “Father of Capgem” for his “pivotal role in the foundation and the development of the cooperative” that has benefited generations of members for 33 years.
In his message, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said he stands with the late governor’s family in “celebrating the life of a remarkable man who will be forever remembered with honor and gratitude.”*PNA
