Take 2. A beautifully crafted key is presented by Santiago and his staff to Lavarias at the chancery on November 18.
Photo by CSFP-CIO
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – A symbolic key to the city, made by a renowned artisan from Betis, Guagua, was finally given to Archbishop Florentino “Dong” Lavarias on Tuesday.
This, in the wake of criticisms thrown at the city government of San Fernando for the “trashy key” it presented to the new archbishop during the Pampanga civil government welcome program last Oct. 27.
Mayor Edwin “Edsa” Santiago said he sought an audience with Lavarias and went personally to the Arzobispado De Pampanga (Chancery) in Barangay San Jose here at 4 p.m. last Tuesday to hand over the new symbolic key to the city.
“We stayed for one and half hours,” the mayor said during a press conference on Wednesday at the Heroes Hall here. The new key was made of resin by Merlito Gepte, an artisan from Betis, said Santiago. The mayor explained that under the Procurement Law, a minimum of 45 days is required before any purchase is made by the city. He said the city cannot suspend the procedure unless “we are under a state of calamity” because “we have a policy of full disclosure.”
Santiago said the City Tourism Office has initially given a “token” symbolic key to the Archbishop which was made of Capiz by a lantern maker which is “symbolic of our craftsmanship.”
The symbolic key given to Lavarias at the civil ceremony shortly before he was officially installed at the Metropolitan Cathedral on October 27 was described as: “a yellow key of undetermined material – laminated plastic or colored capiz? – with chips, dents and folds throughout its length of some 12 inches.
The seal of the city at the center of its head, a paper cut-out with fading colors and texts. It’s general appearance, in the words of board member, the impression of a key by a kindergarten pupil just learning how to use a pair of scissors.”
The city government was widely criticized for the faux pas. “There are areas for improvement. So we are now ahead one quarter and our procurement lan is year round,” Santiago said. “It’s not every year that we changed our Archbishop. We were informed about it but these things happen. Even Mabalacat was not able to give its key in time for the ceremony,” Santiago said.
In the civil government welcome program, Mabalacat City, hometown of Lavarias, was not among those to present symbolic keys to the new archbishop. Instead, its part was for Mayor Marino Morales to present Lavarias with the city medallion. Only the provincial government and the cities of Angeles and San Fernando were to present the symbolic keys.
