Tumanggap ang Marikina City Government ng dalawang fully equipped na life-saving vehicles mula sa Sakai City government ng Japan, na kanilang sister city.
Sa isang pahayag nitong Martes, nabatid na si Sakai Mayor Masahiro Hashimoto, Congressman Noboru Hammura, at iba pang Sakai officials ay personal na nagtungo sa Marikina City nitong Lunes para sa turnover ng mga mini pumper fire truck at Advance Life Support (ALS) ambulance.
Ang naturang ambulansya ay mayroong portable at fixed oxygen supply equipment, suction apparatus na may regulator, built-in pulse oximeter, automated external defibrillator, blood pressure meter, nebulizer, at immobilization equipment, at iba pa.
Si Marikina Mayor Marcelino "Marcy" Teodoro naman, kasama ang City Council ng lungsod, ang tumanggap ng mga naturang donasyon mula sa kanilang sister city.
"On behalf of the City Government and citizens of Marikina, I graciously accept and express our profound gratitude for this ambulance. But more than this, we are grateful for the invaluable learnings, experiences, and opportunities we have both gained from our mutual collaboration and friendship," ani Mayor Marcy sa kanyang talumpati.
"This 2022 we celebrate six years of sisterhood, of bilateral cooperation and reciprocity between our cities. We have fulfilled our objective of broadening and deepening our mutual understanding of our culture, people, and practices of good governance. We have actualized programs in education and disaster risk reduction and management through benchmarking activities and exchanging of ideas," aniya pa.
Matatandaang ang Marikina ay naging sister city ng Sakai sa ilalim ng isang memorandum of agreement na nilagdaan noong taong 2017.
Umaasa naman si Mayor Marcy na ang Sakai at Marikina ay patuloy na uunlad ng magkaagapay sa mga susunod pang taon.
"Mayor Hashimoto and I have been given the opportunity to continue serving our respective cities, a favorable condition for us to further our partnership in education and explore more areas of collaboration moving forward, especially in the spheres of culture, tourism, trade, and environment," anang alkalde. "Let me also take this opportunity to thank you for your generosity and hospitality during our 2019 visit to Sakai Town. We welcome you to Marikina with the same kindness and enthusiasm. Enjoy your stay here in the Philippines!"
Sa kanyang panig, pinasalamatan naman ni Mayor Hashimoto si Mayor Marcy dahil sa pangangalaga ng mabuting relasyon sa pagitan ng mga lungsod ng Sakai at Marikina.
Hinubad pa ng alkalde ng Sakai ang kanyang sapatos at ipinagmalaki na ito’y gawang Marikina.
Inimbitahan rin niya si Mayor Marcy at ang kanyang maybahay na si Marikina 1st District Rep. Maan Teodoro na bumisita sa Japan, para sa kanilang nalalapit na festival at binati ang mag-asawa sa pagkapanalo sa katatapos na halalan.