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The
Municipality of Paombong
celebrated a truly momentous
event on July
12, 2008, it
being the official turn-over
of the fire
truck and two
garbage trucks
donated to the Municipality
by the Rotary
Club of Tokyo Edogawa
through its World
Community Service Program.
The project was initiated
in 2007 by the Rotary
Club of Paombong,
through its then president,
Hon. Donato
D. Marcos,
also the Municipal
Mayor. Propelled
by the Rotary year theme
"Rotary
Shares",
Mayor Marcos rallied
his Club Members to
donate something that
will be of immense value
to Paombong.
When he went to Japan
for an official function
last in the last quarter
of 2007, he also made
a make up meeting at
the affluent Rotary
Club of Tokyo Edogawa
through his friend and
then President
Nominee Mr. Norihiko
Matsui. There
he met the club President-Elect,
Mr. Shigeru Yamashita
who with a simple handshake
and with a passionate
five minute speech,
pledged that they will
share through their
World Community Service
program.
Negotiations for the
project continued until
the end of Mayor Marcos'
term. It was taken up
by its present
president, Mr. Emenito
SJ Sacdalan.
Both Rotary Clubs coordinated
and cooperated until
the RC of Tokyo Edogawa
finally was able to
find the suitable donations
to Paombong.
A fire truck
donated by Mr.
Kobayashi Teruyuki,
Commissioner
of the Tokyo Fire Department
and two
garbage trucks
from Mr. Yahagi
Kenya, president of
Fiji Unyu Co., Ltd.
and Mr. Nakayama
Yuji, president of Seishin
Unyu Co., Ltd,
respectively, were shipped
to Paombong in mid-2008
…. Finally making
a life-long dream of
the tiny municipality
a reality.
The keys to the trucks
were personally turned-over
to Mayor Marcos
by Mr. Shigeru
Yamashita.
They were joined by
sixteen other Japanese
Rotarians and their
spouses. The ceremony
was witnessed by Gov.
Joselito "Jon-Jon"
Mendoza, DG
Miguelito "Lito"
Jose, PDG
Manuel Punzalan
and the Rotary
Club of Paombong
headed by its president,
Mr. Emenito
Sacdalan, also
Paombong's Municipal
Administrator.
Following local Christian
tradition, the trucks
were blessed by Fr.
Ventura "Turing"
Galman. They
were later paraded through
the town by members
of the local Fire Department
and General Services
Office. The Japanese
benefactors were welcomed
in a fiesta atmosphere
and were treated to
a bevy of local folk
dances and delicacies.
It should be mentioned
that this donation is
as yet unprecedented
for all parties concerned.
For the RC of
Tokyo Edogawa,
no other Rotary
Club in Japan
has donated three trucks
simultaneously to one
particular town. In
the entire history of
the Rotary Clubs
of Japan, a
donation of this magnitude
has not yet been made.
The same is true for
the Rotary Club
of Paombong.
This is the very first
donation of this magnitude
made to Paombong that
has been initiated by
the Rotary Club
of Paombong.
And for the Municipality
of Paombong, Mayor
Marcos puts
it best when he said,
"no other foreign
individual or organization
has given such a valuable
contribution to our
town and no other foreign
individual or organization
has responded to our
need faster than the
Rotary Club
of Tokyo Edogawa did."
As
a follow-up activity,
Mayor Marcos and RC
Paombong President Emenito
Sacdalan, together
with a small delegation
of Rotarians, are scheduled
to fly to Japan to attend
the 45th Anniversary
celebration of the RC
Tokyo Edogawa
on July 28, 2008 where
Mayor Marcos
will be personally delivering
his thank you speech
in front of Paombong's
benefactors.
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