BAGUIO CITY – The city government and the municipal government of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur formally signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) establishing a sister city relationship between the highly urbanized city and the first class municipality.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong and Narvacan Mayor Pablito Sanidad, Sr. signed the MOA during the welcome dinner hosted by the city government for the delegations from its international and local sister cities.
Earlier, the city council approved Resolution No. 5, series of 2024 establishing the sister city relationship between Baguio and Narvacan, Ilocos Sur.
Mayor Sanidad said that the delegation from Narvacan was overwhelmed that the signing of the sisterhood agreement was done in an occasion attended not only by the representatives from two involved local governments but also other sister cities of Baguio from the different parts of the world, like Canada, the United States of America, South Korea and Japan.
He added that the well-attended occasion only proves that Baguio is a city beyond borders reflecting the theme of the 29th edition of the Panagbenga.
He noted that in his more than five decades of staying in Baguio, he had witnessed numerous people from Narvacan come to the city to study where some of them opted to stay and succeed in their respective professions while others decided to go to live and work in other places but almost all of them considered Baguio as their second home.
Sanidad narrated that these partnership will not always be equal because while Narvacan is much older having been founded in 1576 and Baguio was founded in 1909 and declared the Summer Capital of the Philippines several years before, the fact remains that Baguio has always been a highly urbanized city while Narvacan became a first-class municipality only last month.
“We realize only too well that we have a long way to go. Baguio City will always be an older brother or sister. We will always look up to you for guidance and direction. We will continue to benefit from your progress and experience. It is our honor and privilege that you accepted us under your care,” Sanidad stressed.
According to him, Narvacan cannot exhaust the opportunities it will gain from the city and that they have many more to learn from countless areas, governance, cultural, social, economic, environmental, fiscal, educational, tourism, persons with disabilities, children, women, labor, among others.
He claimed that those who continue to stay in Baguio may after a time take the city for granted but those who came and left and can view Baguio from a distance learn to realize and yearn for its joys, charm and richness that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
For their part in Narvacan, Mayor Sanidad expressed hope that they can also contribute their humble share in the said partnership and that they look forward to doing their share.
“Our desire for acceptance as your junior partner or younger partner can more recently be reflected in the fact that in 2023, we defied advise of many and insisted in joining the Panagbenga. Our joining in 2023 was a Hail Mary attempt but we did not give up. Last year, we joined again and we placed first runner up in the open category against many participants that came from all over the country,” he added.
This year, Narvacan again joined the Panagbenga with its beautifully decorated and landscaped float and with Miss World 2024 and Baguio-based beauty queen Krishna Gravidez on board it together with the delegation from the first class town of Ilocos Sur.
Sanidad handed over to Mayor Magalong as a token a replica of the oldest Spanish tower in Narvacan that was built in the 16th century that will symbolize the twinning between the two cities, the cooperation and partnership that was established. By Dexter A. See
