PINURI ni Vice President Sara Duterte ang bayan ng Angono sa lalawigan ng Rizal sa pagsasagawa nito ng Higantes Festival, ang unang pagdiriwang matapos ang dalawang taong pahinga dahil sa pandemya.

“It is an honor to celebrate Higantes Festival with you, the proud people of Angono, who continue the noble work of ensuring that we do not forget the historical significance of this festival,” sabi ni Duterte na siya ring kalihim ng Department of Education.

“Through these colorful and gigantic papier-mâché puppets, our forebears expressed their deep-seated yearning for freedom that planted the seeds and the call for change,” dagdag pa ng Bise Presidente.

Sinabi ni Duterte na malaki ang maitutulong ng sining sa pagpapaunlad ng pagiging malikhain ng murang isipan ng isang bata.

“Your celebration is a reminder of how art as it flows through our history, our culture, our traditions, and our life binds us together as a people with a common pursuit of a stronger nation,” sabi pa ng kalihim ng DepEd.

Kinilala rin ni Duterte ang lokal na pamahalaan ng Angono na pinarangalan bilang most competitive municipality sa larangan ng imprastraktura sa katatapos na 10th Cities, Municipalities Competitive Summit.

Ang Angono ay pang-anim sa most competitive municipality sa bansa na mayroong mahigit na 1,400 munisipyo.

Ang Angono LGU ay paulit-ulit na ring nakatatanggap ng Seal of Good Local Governance mula sa Department of the Interior and Local Government.

“Indeed, Angono’s local government has gone a long way in its mission to uplift the lives of its people and promote socio-economic development. From a third-class municipality in 1998, Angono is now a first-class municipality. At dahil iyon sa pagkakaisa ninyong lahat. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, your town’s economy grew with gross sales of registered firms reaching over 14 billion,” dagdag pa ni Duterte.

Nagpasalamat din si Duterte sa Angono sa pagiging halimbawa umano ng pagpapahalaga sa kasaysayan habang umuusad patungo sa hinaharap.

“Thank you, Angono, for giving the Filipinos an example of how we can continue to value our history while also bravely marching toward the future,” wika pa ni Duterte. “May the Higantes Festival inspire the rest of the Philippines to help us revive Filipino solidarity through art.”