Rota Mayor’s Office, SMEC named LibDay Parade best floats

Showcasing the beauty of the CNMI, its culture, and the history of the islands, the Rota Mayor’s Office and the Fraternal Order of Eagles Saipan Maga’Lahi Eagles Club were named the best floats in the 2024 Liberation Day Parade last Thursday night.

The Rota Mayor’s Office took home the $5,000 top prize in the government catergory and the Saipan Maga’Lahi Eagles Club also won $5,000 in the non-profit category. Other competitors in the non-profit category were the Carabao Cart, Highlands Lawn Care, CAB Dancers, and Petlas Marianas, and the other government competitor was the Office of Aging- Saipan, Tinian, Rota.

A special awarding ceremony took place Thursday night at the carnival grounds at the Garapan Fishing Base a little before the fireworks show.

Saipan Tribune was able to speak to Saipan Maga’Lahi Eagles Club president Moises Tagle Jr. and he shared his gratitude to organizers and judges of the float competition.

“First we thank God. Second, we wholeheartedly appreciate the judges and the spectators to award the best floats in the non-profit category. It is overwhelming as the president of Saipan Maga’Lahi Eagles Club to receive this kind of award most specially in this momentous event of the year not only here on Saipan, but in the entire U.S. territory.”

He shared that the 12- by 8-foot float which depicted scenes from the CNMI’s past and present had been a group effort. From the recreation of the Last Command Post to the transition to the present day CNMI and the beauty and opportunities found in it, it had been a labor of love.

“I attribute this award to the entire club, most especially the backbone of our float, Changming Market Warehouse of kuya Dennis Cortez, that served as a shelter where the brainstorming of the design, doing the layout, and execution, and also the highboy of kuya Cris Rivera where it was ‘vandalized’ by the club to come up with the creativity on everyone’s suggestion and comments.”

Following the theme of this year’s Liberation Festivities, the Rota Mayor’s Office float depicted a World War II plane flying from an island, beautifully decorated with a mix of natural greenery, coconut leaves, flame trees, bird of paradise flowers, amazingly detailed latte stones, and an image of a local man representing Rota’s indigenous people, symbolizing a resilient community. The plants and builds that created the eye-catching float were all flown in from Rota, and made the float take the spotlight in the government category.

Rota Mayor Aubry Hocog shared with Saipan Tribune her thoughts on the win.

“It is such a great feeling to have your hard work pay off. The credit for our win belongs to our hardworking staff for their incredible ability to put the float together in such a short amount of time. Many of the items on our float were made and brought in from Rota. Our team had less than two days to put the float together.”

She then expressed her gratitude to everyone on the project and several individuals who played key roles in making the win possible.

“Our win would not be possible without the help of captain Cecilio Raiukiulipiy who transported our items to Saipan from Rota, Rene Batallones of United Equipment Rental who donated his boom truck, Mr. and Mrs. Roman and Frances Reyes for allowing us to use their property to prepare our float. We would also like to thank Mayor RB and his amazing team for putting together such a great event as well as generously helping our team by providing us to use their van. We would also like to thank the Marianas Visitors Authority for providing room accommodations for our team while on Saipan.”