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Vin d’ honneur celebrates PH-NMI partnership
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Posted on Jun 12 2017
Philippine honorary consul to the Commonwealth Glicerio Arago, right, and Gov. Ralph DLG Torres sign a proclamation in honor of Philippine Independence Day during the vin d’honneur last Saturday night at the Hibiscus Hall of the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan. (Kimberly A. Bautista)
The traditional vin d’ honneur last Saturday night brought a couple of hundred Filipinos together to kick off the start of the 119th Philippine Independence Day celebration in the CNMI.
A recently revived tradition, the vin d’ honneur (French, it literally means “wine of honor) made a return appearance only last year as part of the Philippine Consul General’s outreach to the Commonwealth. Philippine missions, embassies, and consulates traditionally host the vin d’ honneur as part of the celebration of the Philippine Independence Day, which falls on June 12 every year.
According to Philippine honorary consul to the Commonwealth Glicerio Arago, the vin d’ honneur tradition was revived to celebrate the partnership between the Filipino community and the CNMI.
Over 200 guests gathered for the vin d’ honneur dinner last Saturday night, with the men mostly clad in the barong Tagalog and the women dressed in the traditional baro’t saya.
There were also government officials who participated in the celebration like Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, Rep. Edwin Propst (Ind-Saipan), Saipan Mayor David Apatang, and Japanese Consul Kinji Shinoda.
“To the people of the Northern Marianas, we are here as your partner,” said Arago.
Torres responded by extending his appreciation to the Filipino community in the Commonwealth and saying thanks for its support of the local government and the advancement of the Commonwealth.
“…It’s the partnership again that I would like to say thank you for and the strong relationship that was built…” said Torres.
Apatang said there is an undeniably strong bond between the Filipino community and the CNMI.
Marianas High School valedictorian Robert Malate gave a speech, the Marianas Glee Club performed, and the Saipan Southern High School color guard posted the colors. A raffle draw capped the night, with a roundtrip ticket to the Philippines going to Lin Digno.
The celebration continued on June 11, during the Pistang Pinoy event at the Marianas Business Plaza.
