RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii is actively seeking to expand its international ties and has an abiding interest in developing goodwill, friendship, and economic relations between the people of Hawaii and the people of Asian and Pacific countries; and

WHEREAS, as part of its effort to achieve this goal, Hawaii has established a number of sister-state agreements with provinces in the Pacific region; and

WHEREAS, because of the historical relationship between the United States of America and the Republic of the Philippines, there continue to exist valid reasons to promote international friendship and understanding for the mutual benefit of both countries to achieve lasting peace and prosperity as it serves the common interests of both countries; and

WHEREAS, there are historical precedents exemplifying the common desire to maintain a close cultural, commercial, and financial bridge between ethnic Filipinos living in Hawaii with their relatives, friends, and business counterparts in the Philippines, such as the previously established sister-city relationship between the City and County of Honolulu and the City of Cebu in the Province of Cebu; and

WHEREAS, similar state-province relationships exist between the State of Hawaii and the Provinces of Cebu, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and Pangasinan, whereby cooperation and communication have served to establish exchanges in the areas of business, trade, agriculture and industry, tourism, sports, health care, social welfare, and other fields of human endeavor; and

WHEREAS, a similar sister-state relationship would reinforce and cement this common bridge for understanding and mutual assistance between ethnic Filipinos of both the State of Hawaii and the Province of Isabela, known as the "Rice Granary of the North"; and

WHEREAS, Ilagan is the provincial capital and Santiago City and Cauayan City, the trading center, have been declared an independent-component city and a component city through plebiscites in 1994 and 2001, respectively, and residents of Hawaii can trace their roots or have immigrated from various parts of the Province of Isabela; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the Senate concurring, that Governor Linda Lingle of the State of Hawaii, or her designee, be authorized and is requested to take all necessary actions to establish a state-province affiliation with the Province of Isabela in the Republic of the Philippines; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor or her designee is requested to keep the Legislature of the State of Hawaii fully informed of the process in establishing the relationship and involved in its formalization to the extent practicable; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Province of Isabela be afforded the privileges and honors that Hawaii extends to its sister-states and provinces; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if by June 30, 2011, the sister state affiliation with the Province of Isabela has not reached a sustainable basis by providing mutual economic benefits through local community support, the sister state affiliation shall be withdrawn; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Governor of the State of Hawaii, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Hawaii's Congressional delegation, the President of the Republic of the Philippines through its Honolulu Consulate General, and the Governor and Provincial Board of the Province of Isabela, Republic of the Philippines.

Report Title:

Sister-State Relationship; Isabela Province, Philippines