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TO COMMEMORATE 119TH INDEPENDENCE DAY
PH community holds flag-raising ceremony
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Posted on Jun 13 2017
Philippine honorary consul to the CNMI Glicerio Arago leads the raising of the Philippine flag behind Marianas Business Plaza, the former site of the Philippine Consulate General on Saipan, to mark the 119th celebration of the Philippines’ Independence Day. (Kimberly A. Bautista)
Philippine honorary consul to the CNMI Glicerio Arago led a coterie of government officials, consular officials, and Filipinos in the CNMI in a flag-raising ceremony last Sunday morning behind Marianas Business Plaza, the former site of the Philippine Consulate General on Saipan, to mark the 119th celebration of the Philippines’ Independence Day.
As part of the celebration, the Filipino community in the CNMI held its annual festival—Pistang Pinoy—yesterday at the Marianas Business Plaza in Susupe.
Sunday’s early morning flag-raising ceremony was intended to kick off the daylong festival, with members of Emon Lodge No. 179 of the Freemasons doing flag duty.
Among those who attended the flag-raising ceremony were Saipan Mayor David Apatang, Rep. Edwin K. Propst (Ind-Saipan), and Japanese Consul Kinji Shinoda.
Propst, who keynoted the flag-raising rites, shared that his Filipina mother came from very humble beginnings and worked extremely hard to raise a family of her own while also supporting her family in the Philippines. According to him, the willpower and the spirit of the Filipino community is what makes them stand out.
The message of Philippine Consul Marciano DeBorja from the Philippine Consulate General in Agana, Guam, was also read Sunday. He said the day celebrates the unity of the Philippines and the strength of the country.
“The strength and the unity of our country depends on every Filipino, wherever he or she may be in the world,” said DeBorja.
A message from Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano was also read. According to him, the day is dedicated to renewing the hope and commitment of Filipinos all over the world and to ensure that all the sacrifices given to make the Philippines what it is today is not put to waste.
