Bacolod City, a city of smiles and the place I call home

Winner, ‘My City, My SM’

MANILA, Philippines –  Bacolod City has a total land area of 16,145 hectares, including straits and bodies of water and the 124-hectare reclamation area. It is composed of 61 barangays and is accessible by sea through the ports of Banago and the BREDCO Port at the Reclamation Area.  

By air, it is accessible through the Silay-Bacolod Airport, an airport of international standards. The Silay-Bacolod airport is located 15 kilometers northeast of Bacolod on a 181-hectare site in Barangay Bagtic, Silay City, Negros Occidental. The airport is built to become the primary gateway to the Negros Island, and is envisioned to be one of the three international airports to service Western Visayas along with the Kalibo International Airport and the New Iloilo Airport. The state-of-the-art facility is built to handle over one million passengers and 16, 715 tons of cargo annually.

Bacolod is the business processing hub of the Western Visayas Region and home of the Association of Negros Producers. “The Showroom” ANP’s display center, is located along Lacson Street near the Provincial Lagoon. It is a must-see for anyone who wants to buy souvenir items, furniture and Negrense delicacies.

The seat of power of Bacolod, the new government center, is one of the most distinctive landmarks of the City. It houses the various departments and serves as a one-stop shop for the populace transacting with the city government. 

The fountain area in front of the government center is a popular jogging spot for runners and fitness buffs at dusk and at dawn. 

Approximately five kilometers away from the new government center is the seat of power of the provincial government  the Provincial Capitol.

The frontage of the Provincial Capitol is the lagoon which is frequented by people from all walks of life. A hataw na aerobic exercise session takes place every morning, part of the attractions that make this a haven for those who want to sweat. 

At the lagoon, we jog with our team, stroll with our friends, bond with our family, feed some fishes or wait for time to pass by.

The Negros Museum is a walking distance away from the capitol lagoon. Artifacts, relics, ancient documents and other items of historical significance are on exhibit here. Every week, they also feature works of various Negrense artists covering mediums from acrylic to stone.

A kilometer away from the Negros Museum, we find the Bacolod City Public Plaza.

The Plaza was constructed back in 1927 as a place for recreation, political, spiritual and cultural activities. The gazebo, which is the centerpiece monument of the plaza, is inscribed along the sides with the names of Western musical composers like Beethoven, Wagner, Haydn and Mozart. The plaza is the place of celebration of the MassKara Festival.  

A stone’s throw away from the plaza is the San Sebastian Cathedral. 

A few hundred meters away from the San Sebastian Cathedral stands the highest edifice in Bacolod City  Pope John Paul II Tower.

One of the prime movers of the project said that the tower is a testament Pope John Paul’s advocacy to promote a culture of life and love.

Visitors are welcomed by an eight-foot sculpture of Pope John Paul II created by Brother Tagoy Jakosalem out of synthetic bronze and fiberglass. Adorning the top of the tower is a 12-foot stainless steel lighted cross made and donated by seasoned architect Ramiro Garcia, former vice mayor of Bacolod.

Stations of the way of the cross can be found in the various levels of the tower. A life-size wax figure (or doll) of the pontiff encased in a clear glass case welcomes you into to the higher levels of the building.

At the top view of the tower, you can enjoy a bird’s eye-view of another city.

SM City Bacolod

We love to bring our family here to witness the various events and exhibits that the mall hosts.   

Last June 25, we were able to browse through preserved equipment that ABS-CBN has been using over the decades. It’s a good way to reminisce over the past and for younger generations to learn about the pre-YouTube era.

SM offers various delicacies in its food court. Here you can also bring your electronic handhelds with Wi-Fi support and freely browse the web via the Mall’s 802.11 Network.

Here at SM, we can shop to our heart’s content. The department store offers us a great assortment of beauty care products, cartoon character-embellished merchandise, audio and visual toys for gadget aficionados, confectioneries for the sweet-toothed, books for tykes, scrapbooks for teens, supplies for Dad and treasure chests for Mom, luggage for the traveler and flip-flops for the beach wanderer, toys for kids and showpieces for hard-core collectors, wine and spirits that will please the palate, fruits for detoxification and other edibles. All these and more are offered here at SM. It’s not all about shopping: a trip to SM is like a poem where we’ll find more and more meaning with each rhyme.

At SM, we can enjoy go fashion vogue or go classic  in the end, we can all be style critics.

We can sweat it out, too  shooting some hoops alone, or at the many game areas available. Or we can SMS our friends to help us step up the fun (and never forget to jump high when we have won).

When life is dull we don’t have to go far, for here at SM we can take the stage and feel like a star.

Or better still, we can grab our Juliet and serenade her with ballads of love ‘til she gets teary eyed.

We love SM because it is like a second home  where we meet our friends and reminisce over places we’ve roamed.

In here, we can spend our hours and let young love bloom.

We can sit with peers whom we’ll graduate with soon. 

Here at SM. each day is an experience. When we get home, the next SM visit is the day we await.

Though my poetic piece’s end has come, the memories I’ve had with SM will forever be my life’s charm.