MANILA, Philippines — Valenzuela City and the Municipality of Narvacan forged a sisterhood agreement in an effort to speed up mutual attainment of socio-cultural, technological and economical development of both localities.

The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed between Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin T. Gatchalian and Narvacan Mayor Zuriel S. Zaragosa, Ilocos Sur during the celebration of Bagnet Festival held last month.

The forging was aimed to promote partnership and cooperation between the two local government units and their constituencies bounded on its four-fold goal of cultural heritage preservation, technical exchange facilitation, sustainable development, and general welfare for the unquantifiable concerns of the people, Gatchalian said.

Narvacan is a first class municipality in Ilocos Sur, while Valenzuela City, a highly-urbanized city in Metro Manila has gained recognition for being the best-governed city in the Department of the Interior and Local Government list.

The MOA was solidified in Valenzuela City through City Resolution 173, Series of 2011, authored by 1st District Councilor Marlon Alejandrino.

Gatchalian said he views the partnership as a venue to “share best practices” and to activate assets that were made sedentary over time.

Speaking after the signing at the Bagnet Festival, Gatchalian said he admires Narvacan's enthusiasm in promoting its culture, such as fiestas.

The mayor's announcement that, “the festival, scenic spots, and the competent mayor of Narvacan will be promoted to the Valenzuelanos” was lauded by the people of Valenzuela.

Both Gatchalian and Zaragosa have one thing in common– to put premium not only on tourism, but also on education and waste management.

The city of Valenzuela was credited in the field of education through Gatchalian's vision of “Good Education is Good Governance.” Last year, the City of Valenzuela gained the top spot in the National Achievement Test for Elementary for School Year 2010-2011 in the National Capital Region (NCR). The “Library Hub Project” which is relatively young among metropolitan cities was also inaugurated recently.

On waste management, Valenzuela is toiling to make its project “Segregation on Wheels” a success, in which garbage collectors do the segregation as they collect them from households. Narvacan is commended for installing its municipal dumpsite.

While Narvacan boasts of its Bagnet Festival and other tourism spots, Valenzuela City is expected to revive its remaining historical edifice and artifacts dating from the Spanish era.