‘Tree of peace, hope’ lighting kicks off Christmas season

As daytime gave way to night, Christmas carols filled the air followed by Gov. Eloy S. Inos’ flicking of a switch on Friday night to beautifully light up a giant Christmas tree he calls a “tree of peace and hope.” The 6:29pm switch-on kicked off the holiday celebrations in the CNMI.

At 30 feet tall, the Christmas tree hovers over everyone and everything in the parking lot of the Pedro P. Tenorio Multipurpose Center in Susupe for the tree-lighting ceremony.

The governor said the tree symbolizes the CNMI’s gratefulness to the Lord for all the blessings the islands have received, but at the same time, he called on the community to not forget about families affected by disasters such as typhoons.

“Let’s also think about the men and women in harm’s way. Let’s continue to pray for their safe return,” the governor said, referring to military personnel from the CNMI currently stationed in conflict areas and other parts of the world.

Jazmin Jack, 12, said she was happy to be part of the group of Department of Public Safety personnel and family members, along with the San Jose Parish choir members that sang Christmas carols in the lead-up to the switch-on.

“I like all the songs we sang, like Holy Night. And this Christmas tree is the biggest and tallest I’ve seen so far. It’s really beautiful,” Jack told Saipan Tribune. She’s a daughter of a DPS investigator.

The public is invited to visit the giant Christmas tree, which will be lit up on night time until around Jan. 6.

Joining hands to build and decorate the Christmas tree were personnel from the Office of the Governor, Department of Public Works, Department of Public Safety, Department of Corrections, and the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.

In an interview with reporters after the tree-lighting, the governor said he’s hoping that the U.S. Department of Labor would soon announce granting the CNMI’s request for an extension of the transitional CW program beyond Dec. 31, 2014.

Inos said extending the CW program could be one of the greatest Christmas gifts from the federal government this holiday season.

Without such extension, the CNMI could lose immediate access to some 12,000 skilled and professional foreign workers that the tourism-based economy has relied upon for years and decades.

Inos said such a grant of extension will ease uncertainty on the availability of enough number of workers, at a time when the economy is picking up. The governor said the government, the business community, and the employees themselves would want the uncertainty addressed, hopefully before the year ends.

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) had said U.S. Labor assured him that an announcement of a decision will be made before the end of 2013, but there’s no telling whether such would be a grant of extension or not.

Inos said he plans to write a joint follow-up letter with Sablan, addressed to U.S. Labor, on the requested CW extension.