{"id":301449,"date":"2019-06-13T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T20:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=301449"},"modified":"2019-06-13T06:00:08","modified_gmt":"2019-06-12T20:00:08","slug":"filipinos-in-cnmi-celebrate-121st-ph-independence-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/filipinos-in-cnmi-celebrate-121st-ph-independence-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Filipinos in CNMI celebrate 121st PH Independence Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_301450\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-301450\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/121PH-pix.jpg\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-301450\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the Emon Masonic Lodge No. 179 pose for a picture with Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan (Ind-MP) yesterday morning after the 121st Philippine Independence Day flag-raising at the Kanoa Resort parking area. (Marc Venus)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>CNMI government officials joined the Filipino community, led by Philippine honorary consul Glicerio Arago, at the Kanoa Resort parking lot early yesterday morning for the traditional flag-raising ceremony that signals the commemoration of the 121st Philippine Independence Day.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) were joined at the morning flag-raising by Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang, Sen. Vinnie F. Sablan (Ind-Saipan), House Speaker Blas Jonathan T. Attao (R-Saipan), Rep. Joseph Leepan T. Guerrero (R-Saipan), Rep. Luis John DLG Castro (R-Saipan), Rep. John Paul P. Sablan (R-Saipan), Rep. Richard T. Lizama (R-Saipan), Rep. Christina Sablan (Ind-Saipan), and Rep. Sheila J. Babauta (Ind-Saipan).<\/p>\n<p>Members of the Emon Masonic Lodge No. 179 installed the Philippine flag on the Kanoa Resort flagpole. Torres and Delegate Gregorio Sablan assisted with raising the flag. <\/p>\n<p>Most of the men present wore traditional Philippine attire, barong Tagalog, while the women were in traditional terno.<\/p>\n<p>Another highlight of the flag-raising ceremony was the singing of the Philippine national anthem, which was done by Kenneth Codog.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel so honored to present the national anthem because it is a very important symbolic song for our [country],\u201d said Codog.<\/p>\n<p>In his remarks, Delegate Gregorio Sablan highlighted the importance of the relationship between the people of the CNMI and the Filipino people. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy friends, you are as much a part of this community as I am, and all your hard work is what makes us what we are today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The year\u2019s Philippine Independence Day\u2019s theme is \u201cKalayaan 2019: Tapang ng Bayan, Malasakit na Mamayaman (Independence Day 2019: Courage of the Nation, Compassion for the People).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his closing remarks, Arago thanked the CNMI for keeping the relationship between the people of the CNMI and the Philippines \u201cstronger than ever.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe show our gratitude\u2026and we will continue to work together for the common good,\u201d said Arago.<\/p>\n<p>Messages from Philippine President Rodrigo E. Dutuerte, Philippine consul general Marciano de Borja, and Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. were also read at yesterday\u2019s ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>The Philippines declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CNMI government officials joined the Filipino community, led by Philippine honorary consul Glicerio Arago, at&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":301450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-301449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-cnmi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}