Think about it
Bayambang’s other, stellar side recalled
By Jun Velasco
““The perfection of virtue is to conceal virtue,” Quintilian
THE town of Bayambang is at center stage today, March 16, when a cycling classic—Gerry Lacuesta Cup—reels off.
Yes, it’s part of a series of activities to drum up interest on the town’s 400th foundation on April 5.
April 5, by the way, is also Pangasinan’s Foundation Day.
Could Gov. Spines, native of neighbor Bautista, have a hand in the synchronized foundation dates? Just asking.
In case you don’t know yet, Gerry Lacuesta was the founder of the Tour of Luzon.
He could easily pass for the moniker, “father of Philippine cycling.” It was he who made national cycling heroes of Pangasinan cyclists Rufino Gabot, Mamerto Eden, Edmundo de Guzman, and our singing—cyclist—columnist Jesus Garcia Jr., among several local cycling stars who have dominated many “tours”—Tour of Luzon, Marlboro Tour, Tour ng Pilipinas, and many more.
In spite of its disappearance, the Tour of Luzon has become a magic name. in the country’s sporting world, having created a cycling mania and cycling heroes.
Here’s a toast to the late Gerry Lacuesta.
What many do not know was that Lacuesta was a writer, a lucid and brilliant writer; he was publisher of the now defunct Katas Magazine.
He was profound, great organizer and visionary. Often, he’d come to our house and drank several cups of coffee while we busied our self with beer.
The man’s obsession with the cycling sport gave birth to a cycling oval he called Velodrome in his birthplace, Bayambang. It was intended to train local cyclists to become world-class. One day, he asked us and then Vice Governor Jojo Estrella to help him promote the Velodrome. Which resulted in the organization of the province-wide Miss Baley Ferdinand beauty contest.
There’s another side of Lacuesta that has perplexed many of his confreres and friends—he was an analytic organizer. He was able to wangle a contract with Bayambang government to manage the town’s controversial Mangabol fisheries with then Mayor Jaime Junio—providing full support. But all was not well then, because some owners of Mangabol were oppositors to the contract that resulted in the filing of court cases.
One day in 1982, Lacuesta had just left the local court when an able-bodied assailant swooped down and killed him. The James Bond attaché case that we earlier gifted him was thrown off including vital documents.
Thursday afternoon, we met with consul Salter Han, who is active in the quadricentennial; historian Emma Mula, who had worked at the National Historical Commission, and Joel Camacho, the mayor’s cousin.
We suggested to the leaders led by the two-some of Mayor Ric Camacho and business tycoon Cesar T. Quiambao, Vice Mayor Boying Junio, and Centennial president Dr. Henry Fernandez, Ms. Mula, and Consul Han to take another serious look at the proposed designation of the town as the cycling capital of the Philippines.
If Urdaneta has it’s carabao model in the poblacion, why not a giant Ferrari bike in front of the plaza with the inscription—“cycling capital of the Philippines.”
No one can belittle the town’s rich history. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo held Camp there for one day en route to Tirad Pass and finally, Palanan, Isabela where he finally surrendered to his American pursuers in 1899.
While he camped in Bayambang, Aguinaldo commissioned poet Jose Palma to write the lyrics of our National Anthem.
It’s now on record that the town was the official seat of the Philippine Republic.
For years, the town of Bayambang did not have much to show in the art of governance, but it had some vital institutions as an educational center and marine life in the Mangabul fisheries.
Today, the town, a model of public-private synergy, is making up for lost time. It has all the ingredients of a modern municipality — or, if the townspeople would want, a city soon.
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