LibDay parade pushes through

A tropical storm scotched the planned parade on July 4 but that did not dampen the spirit of hundreds of community members and visitors who came out to watch the 69th Liberation Day parade push through yesterday morning along Beach Road in Garapan.

Hundreds camped out along Beach Road as early as 5am, with many setting up barbecue grills, chairs, tables, and umbrellas to wait for the parade that started a little over 10am.

2014 Liberation Queen Pressel Jean Camacho, second from right, is joined by Royal Princess Desiree Crisostomo, third from left, First Princess Rita Doca, second from left, and their escorts during 69th Liberation Day parade. (Jayson Camacho)

Gov. Eloy S. Inos said the parade and July 4th celebration is all about freedom and honor. He also believes the tribute to past mayors of Saipan is a great way to hold the “reunion of honor.”

“Another significant part of this celebration is that Mayor Marian Dlg. Tudela is the first-ever female mayor of Saipan and she joins us today to celebrate freedom and independence,” Inos said.

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) said that postponing the parade due to the bad weather was a good decision “because the sun is out today.” He noted that the tribute to the former mayors and former Liberation Day queens is one of the highlights of this year’s parade.

Sablan said he was chosen by the family to represent his grandfather, Gregorio San Nicolas Sablan, the first mayor of Saipan, in the parade.

Over 30 groups, organizations, and government agencies participated in the parade, some of them featuring floats and mascots.

The United Filipino Organizations’ float was the sole entry in the float competition and automatically won, bringing home the $700 prize.

Although many people enjoyed the parade, 50-year-old Chandran Kandiah who has watched the parade since the moment he stepped foot on Saipan in 1990, said he remembers the “old days” when the parade was a lot better.

“The parade this year is good and I have been watching the Liberation Day parade for 20 years, but before the carnival and parade was much more exciting and now it is not so,” Kandiah said.

Another young community member, Jefferson Mateo, 16, said the parade and carnival used to be “spirited.”

“Now it just feels like another event to go to when you have nothing to do on a Sunday,” Mateo said.

Rona Rojas also expressed concern that more community members used to join the parade in past years.

Liberation Committee chair Vicente Camacho said that every year it is going to be different and that they had to postpone this year’s parade due to the bad weather.

“However, the efforts that were put into this was very quick. A lot of things happened from the time when mayor Donald [Glenn P.] Flores passed,” Camacho said.

“If we’re going to make it better, how do we make it better? It needs a lot more effort for the government agencies to make it better and, like I said, this year is a little different,” he added.

Camacho also noted that the low budget given for this year’s Liberation Day celebration played a factor.

According to Liberation Committee member Terry Camacho, the budget fell a little short. They were supposed to be given about $8,000 but the committee only received a little over $5,000.

“Despite the episodes that we had to put up with and the passing of the mayor, we had to change things around, which is why we included the former mayor tributes,” Camacho said.

One member of the Liberation Committee for entertainment noted that Japan’s Domatsuri and Awaodori groups and a Korean group came to take part in the July 4 parade but then left on July 5.

After the parade, the public was invited to attend a special ceremony at the Liberation Day festival grounds at the Garapan Fishing Base.