Bernabe D. Lorenzo Jr., who?

By virtue of SP Ordinance No. 2012-081 authored by then Senior Board Member Epifanio LD. Galima Jr., “Vizcaya nga Imnas,” the Iluko version of the “Beloved Nueva Vizcaya” or “Vizcaya Hymn”, must be sung in all public ceremonies and similar activities of local government units and national agencies in the province.

We all know that the composer of the Vizcaya Hymn was the late Jaime Macadangdang, a retired teacher from Solano.

Some people, however, are not aware that the “Vizcaya nga Imnas” arranger-translator was the late Bernabe D. Lorenzo, Jr., a retired school principal, also of Solano. Section 3 of SP Ordinance No. 2012-081 states that “the Iluko translation made by the late Bernabe D. Lorenzo, Jr. shall be the basis of the Vizcaya Hymn in Iluko.”

According to the son of Mr. Lorenzo, if not for a dissertation being written by a certain NVSU professor, it will not be known that his father was the arranger/translator of the “Vizcaya nga Imnas.” He was told that in the discussions of the said professor with some other interviewees, she was given another name as the translator of the hymn.”

He also said, “On certain Internet webpages, such as Wikipedia and Brainly, another person is presented as the translator of the Vizcaya Hymn in Iluko. They even refer to the same Ordinance as their basis thereof. Wikipedia further cites the November 16-31, 2015 issue of “Spiritus et Veritas,” a publication of the Diocese of Bayombong, wherein one featured article states that the Iluko translator of the song, a person other than Mr. Lorenzo, served as chairman of the board of judges in the Vizcaya Hymn’s Iluko version competition.”

This shows that Wikipedia and Brainly, which can be edited by anyone, are indeed not reliable sources of information. In fact, the granddaughter of Mr. Lorenzo was able to edit and correct the wrong information in Wikipedia without any verification or approval at all by its page administrators. Moreover, Wikipedia and Brainly also state Jaime M. Macadangdang as the composer of the Vizcaya Hymn, while his real middle name is Dela Cruz.

“We are not after the recognition, but it is just saddening for us that the work of our father was mistakenly credited to someone else”, the son of the translator added.

Mr. Lorenzo of Barangay Quezon, Solano was a school principal with stints in different elementary schools in the Solano II District. He composed the “Vizcaya nga Imnas” sometime in the 90s. He was a columnist, writer, and Iluko editor of the Vizcaya Advocate, a weekly newspaper with circulation in the province of Nueva Vizcaya and the rest of Region 02. He was also a Bannawag Magazine contributing writer. After his retirement from the DepEd in 1997, Mr. Lorenzo became the Director of the Kiddie Kollege of the Solano United Methodist Church, during which he composed the school’s hymn. He served as Executive Assistant to then-Solano Mayor Epifanio LD. Galima Jr. in 1999. He organized and handled the Ilocano Choir of the Solano United Methodist Church. He also composed hymns and songs for the Choir and remained as its conductor until he died on May 3, 2010. #mccd