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| (L to R) Johnny D. Dariagan, President of the Capiz Council of Personnel Officers, Inc.; Atty. Rodolfo B. Encajonado, Regional Director, CSC RO VI; CSC Chair Dr. Francisco T. Duque III; Atty. Raymund Gonzales, Asst. Regional Director, CSC RO VI |
THE RECENTLY concluded 3rd Regional Convention of the Human Resource Management Practitioners held at the Kapis Mansions last August 23-24 was a moment to be remembered and cherished by participants coming from all parts of the region. For one, it served as a solid manifestation that personnel from all over Western Visayas have continued the advocacy to serve well and to dedicate themselves to the advancement and the uplift of human resources with personnel welfare as the main focus of their service.
Jointly undertaken by the Civil Service Commission, the 2-day affair was a well-attended convention which also signified the readiness and attentiveness of Human Resource Management Practitioners to convene and share insights for all the rest to be aware of the developments and updates of human resource management.
The successful event also gave participants the opportunity to rediscover Roxas City and Capiz by having them savor the seafood in a gracious and sumptuous dinner hosted by Dr. Editha Magallanes of the Capiz State University during their first day (August 23) and the musical renditions - compliment of the Capiz Provincial Tourism Office as facilitated by the Provincial Tourism head Alphonsus Tesoro. (The mere fact that Capiz has been virtually declared by the Department of Agriculture as “red-tide free” since its onset, made the dinner more enjoyable for all participants.)
The affair was even made more memorable by the presence of invited guests headed by Capiz Province Governor Victor A. Tanco Sr. who welcomed all participants, dared them to enjoy their stay and prove that Capiceños are not “immortals” as most Manileños would tease them to be - but rather a bunch of hospitable people who take time and effort to keep the visitors well-attended and cared for from start to finish.
For two days, participants were able to accomplish what they came for and get the chance of exploring Capiz with a free tour provided by the City Tourism Promotion & Development Office and Provincial Tourism & Cultural Affairs Office which came after their last session in the afternoon of their second and last day of convention. Participants from Negros Occidental, Guimaras and Antique who had to stay for another night in various local hotels, were able to enjoy the half-day tour while those who took off later in the afternoon of August 24, like those coming from nearby provinces of Iloilo and Aklan, made a two-hour city tour before heading back for home.
More than 350 participants attended this yearly undertaking which rendered some local hotels on fully-booked status and souvenir shops enjoying incremental sales with the influx of domestic visitors participating in the tour. Selected tourist destinations were included in their itinerary with Baybay Beach and Pan-ay’s Sta. Monica Church, museum and bell as the major spots visited. Despite the proximate distance from their point of origin, more than 80% of the 92 tour participants swore it was their first visit to the church, bell and museum, 40% as first time visit in Roxas City and Capiz, and 50% their first time to join a guided tour.
Of the 92 tour participants, around 60 made it at the 3rd storey belfry where the biggest bell in Southeast Asia hangs and the rest contended themselves with taking souvenir pictures at the bell’s replica at the church ground. After exploring the church, the museum and the bell, a quick stop at the newly operational “Centro Turismo de Panay” souvenir shop was infused in the itinerary before leaving for Roxas City premier tourist destination – the Baybay Beach.
After a running view of Baybay Beach, passing by the fish-drying areas in Barangays Dumolog and Baybay, the group then proceeded to the city proper for a running tour. Some of the tour participants made a brief visit at the city’s unique furniture shop – the “Kreyativo” before going to the old ancestral house and birthplace of Manuel A. Roxas – Capiz most illustrious son who became the last president of the Philippine Commonwealth and the first president of the Philippine Republic.
The tour group composed of one bus and four vans, decided to go separate destinations upon reaching the city plaza. Some decided to go up the Hall of Governors of the Provincial Capitol to view the portraits of past and present governors of Capiz (from the time Aklan was still part of Capiz to the present), others made a heritage walk tour around the city plaza, passing by the city’s “Ang Panubli-on” museum, the Presidential monument, the city hall, the historic bandstand and fountain (rotunda), the Immaculate Conception Metropolitan Cathedral , the 102 years old city bridge and the 101 years old Provincial Capitol. The rest decided to spend their remaining hours buying pasalubong at the nearby “Panulce” and the Balay Kapisnon, while others proceeded to Capiz Villareal Stadium to see the native houses built by various indigenous people during the Dungog – Indigenous Peoples Festival held in Roxas City last October 2-6, 2009. The tour ended with all participants dropping off to their respective hotels with the usual pleasant farewells, goodbyes and see you all next time parting words.
Like the guided tour, the whole event was one big happy moment for all convention participants of region 6. Using the words uttered by one of their distinguished guest and speaker CSC Chairman Francisco T. Duque, to a proponent of the convention Atty. Rodolfo B Encajonado who acknowledged the effort made by the organizers – the Capiz chapter of the Capiz Personnel Association headed by its president Johnny Dariagan, he said: “Congratulations for a very successful event, you gave a complete package from A to Z”. (Alger O. Inocencio/TheDailyGuardian.net)
