DANCING INTO THE NEW YEAR. Students of a Chinese-Filipino school in Cagayan de Oro City perform a traditional dance at the opening of the week-long celebration of the Chinese New Year on Monday (Jan. 16, 2022). The local government has acknowledged the contribution of Chinese-Filipino Kagay-anons in the city's development over the years. (Video screen capture courtesy of City Information Office)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - The city government joined the Filipino-Chinese community Monday in launching a week-long celebration of the Chinese New Year, with a focus on the contributions of Filipino-Chinese Kagayanons to the city's development over the decades.
During the opening program, city administrator Roy Hilario Raagas said that without the hard work and diligence of Filipino-Chinese traders, the city's economic development would not have accelerated over the years.
"This goes to show that our brothers and sisters in the Filipino-Chinese community have indeed chosen the city as your home, to be with among us as one, as you consider the city a place worth investing in," said Raagas, who represented Mayor Rolando Uy.
Raagas said it was also important for local government officials to meet with Chinese ambassadors two weeks ago to discuss development partnership potentials.
In a statement, Uy said the Chinese New Year festivity, which will culminate on Jan. 22, reminds the city's constituents of how Chinese culture and traditions have also enriched the Filipinos' customs.
"Treating each other equally (is a virtue), especially in honoring the elderly," he said.
Meanwhile, Rosa Go, president of the Misamis Oriental Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc., said she hopes 2023 would bring "fortune and prosperity, hope and calm. (PNA)
