San Francisco, California Mayor Edwin Lee received a very warm welcome from prominent personalities during his visit to Manila. Businessman and Philippine Olympians Association chairman Rafael “Paing†Hechanova and wife Mely hosted a dinner at their North Forbes Park home in honor of Lee, the first Asian-American to be elected as mayor of San Francisco.
Hechanova, who gained fame as a delegate of the Philippine basketball squad that competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics, recognizes the importance of keeping close business ties with our friends in the United States. As a matter of fact, Manila and San Francisco have long been sister cities, with the San Francisco-Manila Sister City Committee having been established some 53 years ago.
Over the years, the ties between the sister cities have grown stronger with continuous trade, cultural, educational and humanitarian partnerships, and Mayor Lee’s recent visit to Manila reinforces the “Pacific bridge†via a trade and cultural mission dubbed as “Mabuhay Manila: Business, Cultural and Rebuilding Mission.†Typhoon Yolanda has also kindled deeper relations, with Mayor Lee encouraging his constituents to donate money to help the typhoon survivors.
The mayor was accompanied by a delegation composed of distinguished individuals who represent industries and organizations that are strategically important to both San Francisco and Manila. Of course, it goes without saying that one of the reasons why ties between the two cities continue to be strong have to do with the significant presence of Filipino-Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area that number almost half a million.
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Photos by Ramon Joseph J. Ruiz