Babauta underscores NMI-RP relations

Gov. Juan N. Babauta said Filipinos make up half the CNMI’s population but are not being given their due.

The Commonwealth’s chief executive mentioned this during his speech yesterday at the vin d’honneur hosted by the Philippine Consulate General marking the country’s 107th Independence Day celebrations.

Babauta said Filipinos are so much part of the community that they are now taken for granted. “That would be a mistake,” he added.

He said he was very honored to celebrate and recognize the long years of struggle that finally resulted in the independence of the Philippines.

He added that the Northern Marianas would not be the prosperous community if it were not for the contributions of the Filipinos.

“To a very great extent, it is your energy and expertise that have built the modern Marianas,” he said.

Babauta also said Filipinos would always be welcome in the Commonwealth, as he also lavished praise on the country’s nurses, teachers, architects, engineers, accountants, investors, and other Filipinos toiling in the Commonwealth.

The vin d’honneur was held at the Dai-Ichi Saipan Beach Hotel.

Philippine consul general Wilfredo Maximo led the ceremony that was attended by prominent government officials led by Babauta, Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente, Marianas Visitors Authority’s Vicky Benavente, special advisor Robert Schwalbach, and attorney general Pam Brown. Filipino organization members and other guests from the business community also attended the event.

Maximo said in his welcome speech that the gathering commemorated the anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence on June 12, 1898.

He said the Filipino revolutionaries unfurled for the first time from the balcony of the home of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo the flag that everyone in the entire world recognizes.

“We would like to take this occasion to also celebrate the warm and friendly relations that happily exist between the Philippines and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands,” he said.

Maximo said the Philippines is committed to maintain and preserve the relations. He said he is commending the leaders of the Commonwealth for their goodwill and friendship and sympathetic understanding toward the Filipino community.

Maximo led the toast that he dedicated to the people of the CNMI and the continued friendship that exists between the Philippines and the United States.