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June is proclaimed ‘NMI-Philippines Friendship Month’
Gov. Eloy S. Inos and Lt. Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres led other government officials in a signing ceremony proclaiming June as “NMI-Philippines Friendship Month.”
Inos, in a speech, noted that he was glad to note that the ceremony drew almost all the department heads as well as representatives of the Filipino community in the Commonwealth.
Glicerio Arago, Philippine honorary consul to the Commonwealth, third from left, topmost row, joins other members of the Filipino community in this photo in front of the Office of the Governor on Capital Hill. (Joel D. Pinaroc)
He also delivered a message thanking Filipinos for continuing to be an important part of the CNMI community.
Glicerio Arago, the Philippine honorary consul in the Commonwealth, said the ceremony is important for both the CNMI and the Philippines because it “helps strengthen the friendship that has been established for centuries.”
“I am also glad to see that there are so many who attended the ceremony,” Arago said, adding that the presence of many government dignitaries show that “they care for us [the Filipino community].”
“The Northern Marianas Island and the Philippines share many Spanish cultural heritage, customs, traditions, and values,” the proclamation letter reads.
The proclamation cited the contribution of “Filipino engineers, medical workers, teachers, and other laborers who arrived in the CNMI several decades ago and through this day, have substantially contributed to the desired economic progress and development of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, that furthermore enhanced the camaraderie between the Commonwealth and the Philippines.”
The proclamation signing is in line with the celebration of Philippine Independence Day on June 12. As has become tradition, the United Filipino Organizations will mark the occasion with a Pistang Pinoy, which will be held this year on June 14 at grounds of the Marianas Business Plaza in Susupe.
On June 12 itself, the Filipino community will have an early morning flag-raising ceremony at the McDonald’s Middle Road branch.
