US envoy celebrates Thanksgiving in Zambo City

ZAMBOANGA CITY — For US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day yesterday than spending time with the US forces here, lending a hand to protect the city’s watersheds and showing care to local orphans.

"Thank you for making us part of the Zamboanga family," Kenney said after signing the co-management agreement with City Mayor Celso Lobregat, Department of Environment and Natural Resources executive director Ernesto Adobo Jr., and representatives of the Philippine Environment Governance (EcoGov) to protect the city’s watersheds covering more than 56,000 hectares.

Accompanying Kenney at the signing ceremony at City Hall was Maj. Gen. David Fridovich, chief of Special Operations at the US Pacific Command.

She said Thanksgiving Day is the most special of all American holidays as Americans come together to give thanks to Nature’s bounty as well as to family and friends and look forward to the future.

"Today we are doing exactly that. We are coming together as a family to talk about protecting Nature’s bounty," Kenney said as she lauded the efforts of city officials in protecting the environment.

"I cannot think of a better way to celebrate than in joining our hands together as one family not only to protect the water system but to make sure that there is water for irrigation, for industry, clean water for families…," she added.

Kenney also visited an orphanage here and led US military personnel in donating boxes of toys, clothes, medicines and other items for the abandoned children.

Kenney later joined US soldiers in partaking of a turkey feast, as Americans traditionally celebrate Thanksgiving Day with.

About 200 to 300 US soldiers remain deployed here and in Sulu, conducting humanitarian missions and jointly training with their Filipino counterparts in counter-terrorism.

Col. David Maxwell, commander of the US Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, said the US troops were celebrating the day because of the hospitality shown to them by the Filipino people.

"For all the Americans here, we (consider) Zamboanga and the Philippines our second home so we are happy to share (this day) with them," he said.