Siloy champion dies

He was looking to June 30 to mark the end of his 25 long years of service in the local government in Alcoy town in southern Cebu.

But Vice Mayor Antonio Plando succumbed to colon cancer 3 p.m. May 25 at the Cebu Doctor’s Hospital in Cebu City.

Plando was vice mayor of Alcoy since 2007 and was set end his term on June 30 this year. He did not seek reelection in the last election.

The vice mayor was a champion in  the conservation of the Black Shama  (Copsychus cebuensis) locally known as siloy, a threatened  bird species that trace its biggest home in Alcoy.

As mayor of Alcoy, he organized the first Siloy Festival in 2005. It has since become an annual fiesta event.

Plando now lies in state in St. Peter’s Funeral Homes at Imus St. His remains will be brought to Alcoy on Friday.

Alcoy mayor Nicomedes De Los Santos said they will request Plando’s family to let the local government have an open wake in Alcoy’s sports gym or town hall. The burial will be held on June 8.

Yesterday, the Provincial Board (PB) through a resolution sponsored by Board Member Peter John Calderon expressed their sympathy and condolences to the Plando’s family.

He served as the town’s vice-mayor for three consecutive terms from 1992 to 2001. He was mayor from 2004 – 2007. /Peter L. Romanillos, Correspondent