Manny Pacquiao looms large as Jersey City and GenSan become sister cities
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Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and General Santos City Vice Mayor Shirlyn Banas-Nograles sign the sister city agreement as witnessed by their respective council members. Also in photo is organizer and GenSan native Darlene Dilangalen Borromeo. The FilAm Photos
By Cristina DC Pastor
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said he was looking forward to visiting General Santos City because he wanted to meet Senator Manny Pacquiao.
The audience reacted with delight. It was a flippant comment remarked during the August 14 signing ceremony of the Sister Cities agreement between Jersey City and GenSan, but one reflecting the popular notion that GenSan’s most famous product is not its tuna but an international boxing icon.
GenSan is located in the South Cotabato province of Mindanao, a first-class municipality with an estimated population of half a million people. The city is named after General Paulino Santos, a bemedaled soldier who fought in a 1916 campaign to neutralize Moro rebels. He survived gunshot and bayonet wounds. For his extraordinary bravery, he was promoted and became Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army.
When officials from the two cities met for the signing ceremony – led by Fulop and Council President Rolando Lavarro for Jersey City and Vice Mayor Shirlyn Banas-Nograles for GenSan – there was an air of anticipation throughout Jersey City’s City Hall Council Chambers, officials from both sides not knowing much about the other’s urban culture and expecting to be thrilled. Kinding Sindaw delighted the audience with ceremonial welcome and harvest dances from the Maranao and Tiboli indigenous people. The performers’ stunning costumes made heads turn, while the rhythmic dynamism of their martial arts dance shattered the solemnity of city hall.
Fulop noted the significance of the sister cityhood on a personal note. While Jersey City has Sister Cities agreements with about a dozen international metropolises, it’s the first time that one is being formalized during his term as mayor.
“I look forward to building a strong partnership and bond,” he said. “I do want to meet Senator Pacquiao.”
Consul General Claro Cristobal is a witness to the historic moment.
Vice Mayor Nograles stressed how sister-cityhood would “open doors to understanding,” and noted with a tinge of envy Jersey City’s geographic advantage being close to the “greatest city in the world.”
But she quickly added that GenSan is equally proud that the world’s legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao “hails from one of our poorest villages.”
She spoke about GenSan being the Tuna Capital of the Philippines with a daily output averaging 800 metric tons of tuna much of it exported for use as sashimi in Japanese restaurants. The fishing industry provides livelihood to families and boosts the city’s revenue generated from the seven tuna processing plants in the city.
In an exchange of gifts, GenSan officials presented portrait paintings of Fulop and Lavarro framed in Tinalak weaves. The GenSan City Council received a replica Statue of Liberty.
Outside was a heavy downpour. Inside City Hall, it was a pleasant afternoon with officials and guests warmly hailing the occasion as historic and discussing prospects for exchange visits by teachers, students, and local officials. Arts and technology will be traveling to one another’s shores, and a fashion show featuring a Mindanao-inspired clothing will unveil in a couple of days.
“Being from GenSan,” announced organizer Darlene Dilangalen Borromeo, “this is awesome.”
© The FilAm 2018
The GenSan City Council, led by Vice Mayor Shirlyn Banas-Nograles (at far left), all dressed in barong.
