Inos honors CNMI mayors

Gov, Eloy S. Inos paid tribute to past and present mayors of the CNMI during his speech at the 69th Liberation Day at the Garapan Fishing Basin yesterday.

“We come as one to honor the caretakers of our islands, our mayors, people who go out of their way every day to keep our villages clean and safe.”

It is these mayors, Inos said, who oversaw Liberation Day festivities as part of their duties.

Inos spoke warmly of the late Saipan mayor Donald Glenn Pangelinan Flores, who he described as “a soul who enjoyed July 4th so much that he would walk the entire parade route as its head.”

Inos described a mayor’s duty as one that “traces itself back to inside the gates of Camp Susupe and Chalan Kanoa, starting with the first high chief Juan M. Ada, to the person who was first to be called mayor of Saipan, the late Elias Parung Sablan.”

Inos also asked the audience to observe a moment of silence to honor former mayors Francisco M. Diaz, Jesus “Gere” Guerrero, Juan Borja Tudela, Prudencio Manglona, and Donald Flores, who passed away in recent years.

Inos’ speech was part of a ceremony titled “Reunion of Honor: Tribute to the Mayors,” which included speakers such as Vicente C. Camacho, chairman of the 69th Liberation Day Committee, and Saipan Mayor Marian Dlg. Tudela.

Camacho described the day as a “solemn celebration” and thanked all the mayors who served the CNMI in the past, extolling the “purposeful intent” which helped and will help the CNMI “grow and advance.”

Tudela, the CNMI’s first female mayor, spoke of “the flag that bore 48 white stars, and seven red and six white stripes” that “flew in the island’s gasping breeze” to signify the end of World War II and the beginning of a lasting peace in the CNMI.

She said the U.S. flag is a symbol that should remind the CNMI people of the thousands of lives, of soldiers and of locals as well, that paid the “most expensive journey” to ensure their freedom. “Let us not forget, for a single moment, that we walk amongst our forefathers on these grounds today.”

The ceremony ended with a presentation of plaques to family members of Saipan’s past mayors: Gregorio San Nicolas Sablan, Elias Parung Sablan, Ignacio Villagomez Benavente, Vicente Diaz Sablan, Luis Arriola Benavente, Francisco Manibusan Diaz, Jose Santos Rios, Gilbert Castro Ada, Jose Mettao Taitano, Jesus Sablan Guerrero, Jose C. Sablan, Juan Borja Tudela, Donald Glenn Pangelinan Flores, and Juan Borja Tudela.

According to Camacho, both former and late mayors of Tinian and Rota will also be receiving plaques in honorary ceremonies sometime between this week and the next. (By DENNIS B. CHAN)