36 new citizens naturalized

The District Court for the NMI swore in 36 new United States citizens through a court special session naturalization ceremony at the federal courthouse located in Gualo Rai yesterday. (KIMBERLY B. ESMORES)

The District Court for the NMI has sworn in 36 new citizens through a court special session naturalization ceremony yesterday.

Yesterday, District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona administered the oath of allegiance to 36 newly naturalized United States citizens through a court special session naturalization ceremony at the CNMI federal courthouse.

The court held a two-part session with the first batch of 18 individuals naturalized in the morning, and the following 18 in the afternoon.

The morning session saw the naturalization of Carmelito Olalia Asuncion, Flordeliza Dela Cerna Bona, Ruth Saludes Borja, Mukesh Murlidhar Devjani, Neha Mukesh Devjani, Mildred Dorado Ebuen, Raul Rico Ebuen, Rowena Ibarra Jocson, Thitiporn Prachuabsook Kubota, Sinruamsap Ieodonkhoi Lisua, Majie De Arabia Maalihan, Lysa Advincula Maratita, Maydeline Vidal Marr, John Michael Alvarado Mendoza, Jonathan Delos Santos Navarro, Mary Ann Florendo Sablan, Phayong Wanphen Santos, and Yin Chunyan.

Meanwhile the afternoon session included naturalized citizens Gina Hernandez Aguilar, Arthur Inandan Arada, Jocelyn Alcantara Arada, Evangelyn Hernandez Arizala, Marjorie Pascua Cabay, Jessie Eleria Conde, Marciana Foronda Cruz, Vivian Villavicencio Hofschneider, Dulal Howlader, You Jin Jun, Jong Hwan Juan Pedro Kim, Pearl Lauritzen, Marie Afreel Visaya Leightley, Maybelle Cruz Palma, Roberto Supena Palma, Angelito Aquino Romero, Jeeraphong Thoensaket, and Bonifacio Cantero Jr. Villegas.

During one of the sessions, the naturalized citizens heard a heartwarming speech from keynote speaker Catherine Attao-Toves, Tan Holdings vice president for Corporate Affairs/ Human Resources, on the importance of volunteering and giving back to the country they are now citizens of.

Attao-Toves told the new citizens that although there are many privileges of becoming a U.S. citizen, with it comes great responsibility.

“Although we live in an imperfect world, there are many privileges and freedoms that we, as U.S. citizens, enjoy. We have the right to express ourselves, worship as we wish, vote, and pursue ‘life, liberty, and happiness.’ With these privileges and freedoms, also comes great responsibility. To name a few, as U.S. citizens, we are responsible to support and defend the constitution, stay informed on issues affecting our community, participate in democratic process, respect the rights, beliefs, and opinions of others, and participate in our local community,” she stated.

Of all these responsibilities, Attao-Toves focused on one, participating in the local community.

While speaking on this, Attao-Toves shared her journey of battling what was possibly cancer which led her to her life-long love for volunteerism in the local community.

“I have always been ambitious. However, as I started my career, I also started looking for ways to volunteer. My first opportunity to volunteer was with the Marianas March Against Cancer, where a group of us organized this community fundraiser and all proceeds would be donated to the Commonwealth Cancer Association. This was very important to me—as years prior, I was told that I might have cancer. I can recall this, like it was yesterday. After the surgery, I was very lucky to be informed that the cyst on my ovaries was not cancerous. It was through these 15 years of volunteering that built the spirit of volunteerism in my heart,” she said.

She shared that through her position at Tan Holdings, she was able to further help give back to the community through volunteer work by helping establish the Field of Heroes annual event that recognizes those who have served the nation and their community.

“In Tan Holdings, we are very proud to say, ‘we will never forget.’ We will always remain so grateful to our community heroes, for their willingness to ‘serve;’ we will never forget the actions or the dangers they endure. Every September, you will see our garden of red, white and blue, where we will honor our community heroes for their courage (eed), pure intentions (white) and remaining vigilant (blue) for our community. So, as you can see the ‘freedoms’ we endure are not ‘free.’ Celebrate your new responsibilities and privileges with a grateful heart for our community heroes. Find ways to volunteer and stay involved in your community, as the most valuable thing one can offer another is giving your ‘time.’” Attao-Toves said.