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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
81 |
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TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE-PROVINCE RELATIONS OF FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE STATE OF HAWAII OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE PROVINCE OF CAGAYAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES.
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 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 this 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 agreements with the Provinces of Ilocos Sur (l985), Cebu (l992), Pangasinan (2003), Ilocos Norte (2005), and Isabela (2006); and
WHEREAS, the state-province relationships existing between the State of Hawaii and the five Philippine provinces have strengthened the mutual ties with the Filipino community in Hawaii whereby cooperation and communication have served to establish exchanges in the areas of business, trade, agriculture, industry, tourism, sports, health care, social welfare, and other fields of human endeavor especially during the Centennial celebration in 2006 to commemorate the first immigrants from the Philippines who came to Hawaii to work as Sakadas; and
WHEREAS, a similar sister-province relationship would reinforce and cement this common bridge of understanding and mutual assistance between the ethnic Filipinos and Filipino at heart in both the State of Hawaii and the Province of Cagayan; and
WHEREAS, there is already an existing relationship between the Province of Cagayan and the State of Hawaii because several notable citizens in Hawaii can trace their roots or have immigrated from the Province of Cagayan; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the Governor of the State of Hawaii, or the Governor's designee, be authorized and is requested to take all necessary actions to establish a state-province affiliation with the Province of Cagayan by June 30, 2012; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor, or the Governor's designee, is requested to keep the Legislature of the State of Hawaii fully informed of the process in establishing the relationship and, to the extent practicable, involved in its formalization; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Province of Cagayan, upon the adoption of a reciprocating resolution by the Provincial Board of the Province of Cagayan, be afforded the privileges and honors that Hawaii extends to its sister states and provinces; 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 Cagayan, Republic of the Philippines.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Sister-Province Relationship; Cagayan Province, Phillipines