Mercado Highlights His 59th Birthday Celebration With Tree Planting

Sept. 7,2010
Mercado Highlights His 59th Birthday Celebration With Tree Planting
By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.

Maasin City, Southern Leyte-Incumbent Congressman Roger G. Mercado has highlighted his 59th birthday anniversary celebration by planting almost 5,000 seedlings of Mahogany and Acacia Mangium in three barangays of this small city.
This was disclosed by Diego Dain Credo, one of the staff of the District Office of the aforesaid Congressman of Southern Leyte.
He said that the seedlings of Mahogany were planted along the provincial road of barangays Laboon and Dungon; while the Acacia Mangium seedlings were planted in brgy. Bugo.
Credo informed that those who planted the aforesaid seedlings were the DPWH personnel, DENR staff, some personnel of the Governor’s Office,, members of the Barangay Council of Bugo and a group called “Mountain Boys”.
He said that this group of young people has a special funding from the office of the Congressman for his clean and green program of the province.
Mercado’s District Office staff further said that the Congressman himself in the morning of his birthday climbed up Bungkay, a mountain top in brgy. Bugo together with some of the “Mountain Boys” to plant 300 seedlings of Acacia Mangium donated by the Saint Joseph College’s Class Batch of 1968.
During the previous years, the celebrant celebrated his birthdays either at the City Gymnasium, at his residence in brgy.Pugaling or in one of a chosen barangay in the city. Recently, he chose to celebrate his 59th birthday at one of the beach resorts in brgy.Ibarra which was planted with coconuts and some beach forest trees. The breeze coming from the wide span of the sea was more attractively inviting for his supporters, relatives, friends and nature lovers.
A local band called Stringbirds composed of veteran singers and guitarists have provided for the musical entertainment rendering some favorite songs of popular bands in the past-like the Hollies, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, The Beattles,Santana,Bee Gees, Dave Clark Five, The Searchers,Everly Brothers and some songs in the60s and 70s.
There was also a black beauty special guest entertainer from Ubay, Bohol who was apparently a gay. He could sing alternately like a professional singer in both male and female voices with his rendition of English song and Cebuano song entitled “Pasayawa Ko Day”. The latter song was composed by the late Cebuano singer-composer Ben Zubiri who was also one of the popular radio personalities of Cebu during the past years.
The guest entertainer was obviously one kind of a “doubly karaoke” singer who could also performed well in a dance floor to the laughing delight of the crowd.
Mercado’s birthday celebration was also attended by some provincial capitol employees, city hall employees, barangay officials, some media practitioners and some Mayors and Vice-Mayors of the 18 municipalities of this province.
Souvenir ceramic glasses emblazoned with the image of the birthday celebrant were also distributed to some chosen attendees.(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)