Ormoc, Hawaii seal sisterhood

ORMOC CITY, Philippines – This booming port city in the western part of Leyte province in Eastern Visayas is now a sister city of Hawai’i, an island county in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawai’i county is coterminous with the Island of Hawai’i, often called the "Big Island" to distinguish it from the state as a whole. The county seat is Hilo and, as of the 2010 Census, the population was 185,079, according to Wikipedia.com.

Mayor Eric Codilla, fresh from a trip to that U.S. island last month told The Freeman of the sealed agreement between him and Hawai’i county Mayor Billy Kenoi.

With City Council Resolution 77-11, dated June 15, 2011, which creates a sister-city relationship between the Ormoc and Hawai’i, the two leaders signed a contract to enhance the relationship of the newly established partnership.

They agreed on four recitals embodied in the contract, signed on September 14. These are:

1) There shall be a minimum of one goodwill mission exchanged….; 2) if available, exchange of documents on a regular basis will be programmed to facilitate interaction and communication. 3) a student exchange program shall be initiated and pursued; and 4) any other interaction in the form of educational, cultural, technical, trade, political, industrial or professional ideas having potential benefits.

Codilla also said a delegation from Hawai’i county is expected to visit Ormoc on February next year to reciprocate the visit of the Ormocanon officials.

“Though no specifics have been drawn, the said visit will be on trade,” he said, adding that Hawai’i county and Ormoc City have many similarities, one of which is the geothermal source.

On October 8, 1993, Ormoc approved Ordinance 93-102, mandating the establishment of sister city relationships with other governments.

Aside from Hawai’i, Ormoc is also a sister city of Coquitlam, a suburban city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia in Canada, and one of the 21 municipalities comprising Metro Vancouver.