DALY – California’s first Filipina-American Mayor Juslyn Manalo and Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte are working together to further enhance the relations of their cities.
“We have a sister-city relationship so we’re really looking at ways to support Quezon City,” Manalo said during a briefing in her office on Monday.
Daly City, touted as the Pinoy Capital of California, and Quezon City signed a sister-city agreement on Aug. 8, 1994, to raise awareness on Filipino heritage and culture and collaborate on civic opportunities.
In January this year or 29 years after signing the agreement, the two cities renewed the sister-city relationship to foster the continued prosperity of both cities.
Against this backdrop, Manalo said Daly and Quezon City have arrangements to share best practices and knowledge, including Daly’s wastewater treatment and firefighting technology.
“They are looking at water and wastewater treatment and they’re interested in the model that we use,” Manalo told visiting Filipino journalists who are part of the United States’ Friends, Partners, Allies program.
Quezon City is looking at the firefighting apparatus in Daly to further improve the local government unit’s firefighting efforts, Manalo said.
“They’re looking at our firefighting apparatus… So we’re looking at that collaboration,” she said, adding that during one of her recent visits to the Philippines, she met with Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto.
She expressed hopes that Belmonte, too, could visit Daly soon.
“Hopefully, one day, we will visit there again and we’ll get to meet Belmonte here,” Manalo said.
Under her leadership, Daly City plans to revive the Quezon City Friendship Festival, which she experienced while growing up.
“While I was growing up in Daly City, there was the Quezon City Friendship City Festival. It was huge. The older generation held that huge festival. We’re going to have that resurgence happen and bring back that festival,” she told reporters.
Manalo has renamed some streets in Daly into Makibaka, Silang, Bayani and Mabuhay as part of efforts to raise awareness on Filipino language and history.
Outside the city hall of Daly, there is a sign that says “Quezon City 6,957 miles.”
Born in San Francisco to Filipino parents, Manalo grew up in the city and has been an active member of the community. Her profile said she was a community service worker providing direct service to Filipino World War II veterans. She then became mayor in 2018, 2021 and 2023.