Capitol unveils portraits of past, present governors of Iloilo
The unveiling of the portrait of the first
governor of Iloilo Province, Gov. Martin
Delgado (1901 - 1904), by his immediate
kin Ms. Leticia Delgado and Mr. Martin
Delgado III with Gov. Niel D. TUpas, Sr.,
First Lady Myrna Causing Tupas and
Board Member Cecilia Capadosa.
Photo by Ian C. Espada
To give honor to their deeds and achievements and to immortalize the legacies of the past pillars of Province of Iloilo, the Iloilo Provincial Government unveiled the portraits of part governors from 1901 to the present during the Testimonial Dinner held last week as highlight of the 105th Semana Sang Iloilo celebration.
The unveiling was spearheaded by Gov. Niel D. Tupas, Sr. and assisted by First Lady Myrna Causing-Tupas and kin of the governors.
Portraits bared were those of past governors Martin Delgado (1901-1904); Raymundo Melliza (1904-1906); Benito Lopez (1906-1908); Ruperto Montinola (1908-1912); Adriano Hernandez (1912-1913); Amando Avanceña (1914-1916); Gregorio Yulo (1917-1922); Jose Ledesma (1925-1927); Jose Lopez-Vito (1927-1928, appointed); Timoteo Y. Consing, Sr. (1931-appointed, 1934-1937); Jose Yulo Regalado (1931-1934); Tomas Confesor (1938-1941, 1942-1944-Resistance Government); Fermin Caram(1941-appointed, 1942-1944-Japanese sponsored government); Patricio Confesor (1945); Mariano Peñaflorida (1948-1959); Jose Zulueta (1960-1963); Rafael Palmares (1964-1969); Conrado Norada (1970-1986); Licurgo Tirador (1986-1987-appointed); Simplicio Griño (1987-1992); Arthur Defensor (1992-2001); and present governor Niel D. Tupas, Sr. (2001-2004; 2004-present).
In response to this undertaking, former governor Simplicio Griño expressed his heartfelt thanks to all who made this endeavor possible.
He said, "I felt good that people feel I am worthy to be remembered; that they recall my simple share of public service to our people."
"Through this undertaking, we are teaching our children to value a worthy heritage and giving them good examples to emulate. Our children and their children can now have good pictures of local heroes who they can look up to and follow their courageous, patriotic and heroic deeds," Griño said.
He added "these portraits are our bridge to an illustrious past which we deeply cherish. Through this our past governors live in through generations. Their faces serve as our reminders to pursue what we envision for the future of the province of Iloilo."
"To date, we have 26 good men who once have chosen to give their lives for Iloilo. Let us follow their lead and let is continue to be proud of our Ilonggo heritage," Griño ended.
These portraits are now on display at the capitol lobby for public viewing.
(Capitol News)