The new Ormoc City official seal. (City government image)
ORMOC CITY, Leyte – The city government unveiled its new official seal featuring key destinations, landmarks and nature representing its values and identity on Tuesday.
Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez and husband Leyte 4th district Rep. Richard Gomez led the unveiling with city council members and other key local government officials near the city hall main entrance.
The mayor said the city government recently received approval from the Office of the President (OP) and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to use the seal planned and designed by the local government in the past seven years.
“With deep roots in the local culture and history, the new Ormoc City seal symbolizes the city's commitment to progress, unity and innovation. Let's explore the significance of this new seal and what it means for the people of Ormoc City,” Torres-Gomez said.
The new official seal included 1947 when President Manuel Roxas approved the creation of the city.
It also featured the portrait of the old city hall that "symbolizes a future charged with adaptability and flexibility on a stable and solid foundation."
“You can also see Kalachuchi, the official flower of Ormoc City, which symbolizes beauty, pureness, gentleness, cleanliness and resiliency also found in the city,” Torres-Gomez said.
The city symbol also features pictures of Lake Danao, Queen Pineapple, Leyte geothermal plant, Ormocana butterfly, sugarcane, USS Ward and Shimakaze, and Alto Peak.
Lake Danao, Ormoc City's main natural attraction, supplies potable water to at least seven towns in Eastern Leyte, including Tacloban City, and is the source of irrigation of rice fields in some municipalities like Dagami, Burauen, Pastrana and Tabon-Tabon.
“The warm welcome the people of Ormoc give to guests symbolizes hospitality, friendship, generosity, and other forms of social warmth and grace. Ormoc is popular for having some of the best pineapple varieties in the Philippines,” Torres-Gomez added.
Ormoc's 232-megawatt geothermal power plant, she said, is the largest in the world under one roof. Its generated power benefits Leyte Island, part of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Discovered and named by Prof. Julian Jualon in 1970, the Ormocana butterfly is a source of pride for Ormoc City, symbolizing unwavering faith during life's necessary transitions for every season and milestone, Torres-Gomez said.
Sugarcane is one of Ormoc City's agricultural products and a source of income for most residents.
“The tough and solid plant that produces the sweetest sugar parallels the Ormocanon - strong and steadfast with the noblest of intentions to give joy and delight to their community,” the mayor told local officials in her speech.
USS Ward and Shimakaze are the American and Japanese warships that sank during the decisive Battle of Ormoc Bay, representing the many shipwrecks that have become tourist attractions. They also symbolize the liberation of the Philippines from Japanese occupation.
Also featured is Alto Peak, the highest peak in the Eastern Visayas region.
Ormoc is a 1st class independent component city in the Eastern Visayas region with a population of 230,998, making it the second most populous city in Leyte province after Tacloban, the regional capital.
The city is the economic, cultural, commercial and transportation hub of the western part of Leyte. (PNA)
