Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria will lead a delegation of Dumaguete City officials to the United States starting June 4 to establish sisterhood ties with the City of Alameda in the State of California.
Sagarbarria said number one in the agenda in the sisterhood agreement is on how to boost the tourism potentials of Dumaguete, as well as to promote cultural exchanges.
Having earned the moniker ‘University Town’ and now ranked as the fifth best retirement place in the world, Dumaguete must have something to offer that would appeal to the City of Alameda, the Mayor added.
The main attractions of the island-city of Alameda include wind and kite surfing — because of its proximity to the San Francisco Bay — and the Victorian-style houses. Alameda was established in 1854.
Its population is 75,988 residents, about 31 percent of whom are Asians; with a large Filipino community. Their land area is about 27 sq. kms.
The Dumaguete delegation to Alameda in California will be composed of City Tourism Officer Woodrow Maquiling Jr., City Legal Officer Neil Ray Lagahit, City Councilor Dan Leon, Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Edward Du, and Silliman University President Dr. Ben Malayang III.
They will be in the US for 20 days. On June 7, the SU Alumni Association of Northern California will welcome them in a fiesta parade at the Jose Rizal Community Center in Sacramento. In charge of the event is Silliman alumna Maribel Cuaresma.
Vice-Mayor Woodrow Maquiling Sr. will hold the fort in Dumaguete as OIC Mayor in the Mayor’s official absence.
