LONG BEACH, California - The moves to revive the 12-year-old sister city relationship, between this city and Bacolod took a positive step forward with the meeting here between the Sister Cities of Long Beach Inc. Board of Trustees and representatives of Bacolod led by Mayor Evelio Leonardia and officers of the Bacolod Society of America.

At the meeting held at the World Trade Center here, the SCLBI represented by Pat McMaster, chairperson, and the Bacolod Sister City group headed by Paul Blanco agreed on the requirements for the reinstatement of the Philippine City's sisterhood that had been inactive in the past administrations of the city.

The relationship had been entered into in 1992 with Leonardia, then the vice mayor representing Bacolod in the arrangements.

Long Beach has sisterhood agreement with Qingdauo, China; Valparaiso, Chile; Sochi, Russia; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Yokaichi, Japan, and Manta, Ecuador.

In his address to the Bacolod group, Randy Gord welcomed the initiatives of Leonardia to revive the sister city relationship, calling Bacolod "one of our most special ones."

Blanco assured him that they will see to it that all the requirements are complied with so the reinstatement can be finalize as soon as possible.

Leonardia thanked the SCLBI for their response to the bid of Bacolod to revive the sisterhood. He also stressed that he hoped the thrusts of the arrangements would be more toward educational and cultural exchanges between Bacolod and Long Beach.*

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