The Azorean parliament approved, by majority vote, the list of 20 personalities and institutions that will be honored on the Day of the Region in a ceremony that this year will take place in Praia da Vitória on the island of Terceira

The Azorean honorary insignia, which will be awarded on June 9, “aim to distinguish, in life or posthumously, citizens and legal persons who stand out for personal or institutional merit, acts, civic deeds or services rendered to the region”, according to the respective Regional Legislative Decree, approved in 2002.

The draft resolution approved by parliament, presented by the PSD, PS, Chega, PPM, BE, IL and PAN, awards five types of autonomous insignia: valor (one); recognition (four); professional merit (two); industrial, commercial and agricultural merit (one) and civic merit (12).

The autonomic insignia of valor will be awarded to RTP – Açores, and the autonomic insignia of recognition to António Manuel Fernandes da Silva Ribeiro, Cecília Beneventes de Carvalho Meireles (posthumously), Gualter José Andrade Furtado, and Miguel Corte-Real da Silveira Monjardino.

Alfredo Manuel Figueiras Martins Polena (posthumously) and Maria de Fátima Machado Mendes Cabral will be awarded the autonomous insignia of professional merit.

According to the proposal approved today in the Azorean parliament, José Bairros Batista will be awarded the insignia of industrial, commercial, and agricultural merit.

Finally, the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (ALRAA) decided to distinguish Ana Isa Costa Ormonde, Dimas Manuel Simas Lopes, Francisco António Nunes Pimentel Gomes, João Caetano Flores (posthumously), Jorge Manuel Medeiros Correia Gonçalves, José da Cunha Bettencourt, and Lino Freitas Fraga for civic merit.

The same distinction will also be awarded to the Humanitarian Association of Volunteer Firefighters of Ribeira Grande, Futebol Clube dos Flamengos, Sociedade Filarmónica Nova Aliança, Sociedade Filarmónica Recreio Ribeirense, and Terceira Automóvel Clube.

The draft resolution was approved on the last day of the April plenary session of the ALRAA, in Horta, on the island of Faial, with votes in favor from the proposing parties (PSD, PS, Chega, PPM, BE, IL, and PAN) and two votes against from the CDS-PP.

CDS-PP MP Pedro Pinto said in his explanation of vote that his parliamentary group was not a signatory to the proposal and voted against it, “because it considers the act of censorship of which the proposal was the target to be unacceptable”, which he presented “for the award of an honorary insignia”, without mentioning the name indicated.

“What happened was purely and simply an exercise in political silencing,” said Pedro Pinto, adding that he had witnessed the ‘consummation of a coalition between the PS, Chega and PAN’ to ‘suppress a name and, with it, freedom of choice.

The leader of the Socialist bench, Andreia Cardoso, explained the vote and said that the proposal presented and approved dignifies parliament, the Azores and the Azoreans, “because it is the result of a very broad understanding between the parties with a parliamentary seat”.

“There was no censorship at any time. There were proposals from all those who wanted to propose and everyone had proposals accepted and proposals that were not consensual,” he explained.

The Azorean parliament established the regional holiday in 1980 through Regional Decree no. 13/80/A, of August 21, “marks the Azoreanness and autonomy of the region” with a series of celebrations organized jointly by the ALRAA and the Regional Government of the Azores, currently a PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition and led by Social Democrat José Manuel Bolieiro.

The date, a regional holiday, is celebrated on Holy Spirit Monday.

In 2024, the Day of the Region was marked on May 20 in Horta, on the island of Faial. The event included a solemn session at the ALRAA headquarters, the awarding of decorations, and a lunch where the traditional soups of the Holy Spirit were served.

In Diário dos Açores-Osvaldo Cabral, director.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.