JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Juneau has a new sister city.
Community representatives over the weekend made official a sister-city relationship with Kalibo, which is in the Aklan province of the Philippines. Both communities have economic and social similarities: They are tourism centers and capital cities.
Roughly 800 of the 3,000 Filipinos living in Juneau are from Aklan, KTOO reported (https://bit.ly/1qmmRRa ).
Alex Carrillo said Juneau’s bond with Kalibo is more than a sign of goodwill toward the Philippines.
“Filipinos are a big part of Juneau, I think. And it just shows that the city of Juneau really appreciates us,” he said.
While in Juneau, the Kalibo delegation visited the Mendenhall Glacier, Shrine of St. Therese and local businesses.
Some expressed hope that the relationship will encourage the cities to share goods, services and information and that tourism would get a boost.
Dr. Makarius Dela Cruz, Kalibo’s municipal health officer, said the Aklan province needs support to provide better health care to its residents, and the local government in Juneau could help with that.
John Pugh, chancellor of the University of Alaska Southeast, said there also could be a trade in education, including student and faculty exchanges.
___
Information from: KTOO-FM, https://www.ktoo.org
Please read our comment policy before commenting.