SAN JOSE, CAPITAL OF SILICON VALLEY, RAISES PH FLAG AT CITY HALL FOR PH INDEPENDENCE DAY
(San Francisco PCG photo)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, USA – The Philippine flag was hoisted proudly along with the flags of the United States and California at the San Jose City Hall, as the Bay Area’s largest city and “Capital of Silicon Valley” celebrated Independence Day—the 126th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence.
Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Ferrer joined San Jose city officials, the Bayanihan Fil-Am Foundation (BFF), the Filipino American City Employees of San Jose (FACEs), and the Filipino American Community in a Philippine flag-raising ceremony and reception on 12 June 2024.
In his speech, Consul General Ferrer expressed his gratitude to the city government—led by San Jose City Mayor Matt Mahan, and Councilmembers Omar Torres and Domingo Candelas—for its city-wide proclamation declaring June 12 as “Philippine Independence Day,” and for its continued recognition of the Filipino American Community in San Jose.
“The enduring friendship between the Philippines and America has been strengthened by our people-to-people relations, anchored on our four-million-strong Filipino Community in the United States, of whom 65,000 live in your multicultural and multifaceted city,” Consul General Ferrer said.
Consul General Ferrer also encouraged the BFF and FACEs to work with the City Council and the Filipino American Community for the establishment of sister city relations between San Jose and a Philippine city in the near future.
“Establishing San Jose’s first Philippine sister city is a powerful tool to give back to your homeland, the Philippines, through cultural, educational, scientific, technological, and business exchanges that will be opened up by the sister city agreement,” Consul General Ferrer said.
“Think of the best practices in local governance, or the scholarships and the foreign student exchanges, or the technological know-how and other innovations that the people of San Jose could bring to the Philippines when you establish a sister city of your own choosing,” the Philippine Consul General added.
Councilmembers Torres and Candelas—whose offices co-hosted the event—also delivered their remarks, while Silicon Valley Protocol Chief Deanna Tryon joined Consul General Ferrer as a guest. END
Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Ferrer delivers his remarks during the flag-raising ceremony in celebration of Philippine Independence Day, at San Jose City Hall on 12 June 2024. (San Francisco PCG photo)
Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Ferrer with the officers of the Bayanihan Fil-Am Foundation and the Filipino American City Employees of San Jose. (San Francisco PCG photo)
Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Ferrer with Silicon Valley Protocol Chief Deanna Tryon. (San Francisco PCG photo)