THE BUNKER, Bataan – A sisterhood agreement was formalized Friday between the City of San Juan, the Province of Bataan, the City of Balanga, and the Municipality of Limay to strengthen ties of friendship and cooperation.

San Juan City officials, led by Mayor Francis Zamora, joined Congresswoman Bel Zamora of San Juan’s lone district, Bataan Governor Joet S. Garcia, Balanga City Mayor Francis Garcia, and Limay Mayor Richie Jason David in officially exchanging resolutions solidifying their partnership. The event took place at The Bunker, the seat of the Bataan provincial government, which was packed with attendees.

Governor Garcia expressed his gratitude to Mayor Zamora and his delegation, saying, "We have a lot of best practices to learn from San Juan and will look forward to bringing our products to San Juan, being the commercial center, such as the Greenhills, among others."

“In fact, we had already discussed this with Mayor Zamora last year,” Governor Garcia added.

Mayor David, in his speech, highlighted the agreement’s significance for mutual development.

"Pinakamaunlad and aming bayan pero marami pa kaming gustong matutunan sa San Juan; di man kami city pero gusto rin naming maging highly-urbanized na bayan ang Limay," (Limay is economically developed town but we still have a lot to learn from San Juan; though we are not a city but we also want to be a highly-urbanized town), Mayor David said.

Similarly, Mayor Francis Garcia of Balanga thanked Mayor Zamora for the sisterhood agreement and expressed his eagerness to learn from other local government units.

Mayor Zamora encouraged Bataan’s leaders to market their local products in San Juan through its Pasalubong Center. He also urged them to promote Bataan’s tourism by packaging their hotels and highlighting the province’s beautiful beaches.