A visit to the NegOr Capitol

This was planned. Disappointed that there are no early Sunday morning Delta trips to Siquijor, I decided yesterday that I must still rise early today and roam the provincial capitol area for whatever might be interesting to see until my ferry’s 9AM departure to Siquijor.

Skipped Harold’s free breakfast, as I wanted something heavier. Went to the famed “Hoy Lugaw” but I realized I did not want any of what was there for breakfast. So, I went to the public market instead. The stalls where their tarp covers had the full names of the owners, remember? Hmm, I noticed their foods are freshest in the morning! I even had to wait for the fried rice to finish cooking on another pan while my danggit, sunny-side-up and longganisa were cooked right before my very eyes. Since there was no hot chocolate around (other than Milo) I opted for a serving of batchoy. Quite light a breakfast, eh! All these were topped with fresh buko juice from a coconut also prepared in front of me.

Had to rest a while after that breakfast! When I felt I could already help myself up, I hailed a tricycle going to the Capitol.

The road that we passed on is a big main artery of the city (Real St?) though many parts of it were under construction. And yes, on a Sunday morning, this place was rather bustling with a lot of tricycles. I noticed this road is parallel to Perdices St., (oh okay, Hibbard hehe) the next street to the right as we headed north. Hmm, so this is the back of Silliman! On arrival, the early morning look of the capitol grounds and the main building at the center was lovely – even if this was a gloomy morning. Walked on a street that divides the capitol with NORSU (that’s Negros ORiental State University) approaching the capitol building. A very nice walk. Some folks were having their early-morning jogs, walks or biking around.

A noisy speeding truck disturbed the morning silence! It was a truck-full of high-school-band members playing some tunes or banging the drums! They were obviously having fun with their instruments. And the truck went behind the capitol building. So I said, aha, that would be something to watched even for just a while! I thought these kids might be rehearsing or preparing to perform for some parade etc., So I walked towards that direction. I was happily surprised to find that the Marching Band Showdown was about to happen at the Lamberto Macias Sports and Cultural Center.

Alas, I had a boat to catch! But since I had a little more time to spare, I went in and watch the bands prepare and position themselves. The governor came. He even sat near me, then stood up helping with the preparations. Next he climbed up to the make-shift stage where the judges were seated and the ceremonies started. And as the governor was called to speak, it was also time for me to go catch my boat.

But I had to do some more pictures of the capitol and the grounds. It’s a lovely place during early Sunday mornings. Firstly, the building is very reminiscent of the capitol buildings of Cebu, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Western Samar, Leyte, Ilocos Norte and many others. This one is probably just a little bit smaller. But the make is quite familiar – meaning grand! Thankfully, the little water-fountain pond in front of it is full of what else – water – as mostly these kinds of attractions are usually left to dry. The water added to its majestic serenity amid the early morning cloudy sky.

On the wide greens fronting the capitol building is a big structure called a people’s stage (or anything like that). I could just imagine that this place must be a fantastic venue for concerts and similar gatherings. The thing that attracted me to it was its cleanliness – both the structure and the big field of green grass. Trust me, in many other places in this country you will readily know when a public stage was last used as they’d usually live the backdrop to rot or until a new event is about to be held. Not on this big stage. It seems to be always kept clean and real neat! Hmm, just found out while pasting that picture, there is a man tending to the red plants lining the front of the stage. Beautiful!

I saw the officers patrolling the area go in twos – buddies like Lethal Weapon hehe but they’re uniformed policemen and ride in those fancy scooters that virtually every man woman and teenager in the city has hehehe! Oh, one of the motorbikes sported a sign that said it was donated by the Silliman University. Aren’t we proud of that?! A local university (not the government of Japan) donating bikes to the police! Do you have that in your place? Ha?!

The surroundings of the capitol and the great expanse of grass are a scattering of other smaller buildings plus the big sports center which I did not anymore have a chance to visit. Okay now, that was the Negros Oriental Capitol area, but I had a boat to catch!

So I hopped into a trike and asked to be “delivered safely” to the pier! Catch ya at my Siquijor tour, k?

For a chronology of stories on this trip, click the following article numbers: