Other LGUs put up their own Christmas lights, decors
TACLOBAN CITY– For a change, there will be no Christmas tree put up by the city government here.
It’s because, every time the city government puts up a Christmas tree, it’s being torn by a typhoon.
So said City Mayor Alfred Romualdez who directed instead the City Tourism Office to just flood the entire City Hall building and its compound of glittering Christmas lights and display.
“Perhaps you are surprised that we don’t have a Christmas tree this year. You know, every time we put up a Christmas tree, we are being hit by a typhoon,” he said in jest during the switch-on of the Christmas display on Friday (Dec. 2).
“So we have decided to just put up Christmas lights and I commended the City Tourism Office for a good job,” he said, adding that he hope this will not result in an increase in the electricity bill for the city government.
Power consumers in this city and the rest of the region have complained of the high cost of power rates for months now, ranging from as low as P12 per kilowatt to as high as P19/kw.
Tacloban is often visited by typhoons during the last months of the year. In fact, for the past three years now, successive typhoons hit the city.
In 2013, it was devastated by Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ which did not only destroyed Christmas decors put up but even resulted in the deaths of more than 2,200 people and destroyed houses and buildings across the region.
Meantime, the Price Mansion, owned by the family of Leyte Rep. and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, was transformed into a big Christmas village decorated with Christmas lights and display.
Since it opened on Dec.1, thousands of people have visited the place, as they are being reminded to observe social distancing as the threat of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) remains.
Other local government units across the region have also put up their Christmas displays like the provincial government of Biliran which uses different themes every night at their Christmas village in Naval town.
A nativity scene is the main attraction of the ‘Paskuhan ha Katbalugan’ in Catbalogan City, Samar located at the city’s main plaza.
In Silvino Lobos town, its main municipal building up to its plaza were also lighted up with colored Christmas lights and display that gives a Christmas feel to Northern Samar’s farthest town.
(LIZBETH ANN A.ABELLA)
