Mariano 'Nongsky' Aquino Jr. elected 2027 president of New York's Philippine Independence Day Council

The Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc., which organises New York City's annual Philippine Independence Day parade on Madison Avenue, has elected longtime community leader Mariano 'Nongsky' Aquino Jr. as its president for 2027, along with a new board of directors.

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Mariano "Nongsky" Aquino Jr. has been elected president of the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. (PIDCI) for 2027, The FilAm reported. PIDCI organises New York City's annual Philippine Independence Day parade, and announced Aquino's election along with a newly elected board of directors.

Aquino has held leadership roles in organisations including PIDCI, Triskelion Synergy Inc., the American Association of Pangasinenses in America Foundation and the Knights of Rizal New York Chapter. He joined PIDCI as a volunteer in 2006, and has worked at Macy's Northeast for 42 years, according to The FilAm.

"The parade should not belong to a select few. It should belong to all of us," Aquino said. He told The FilAm the new board was still in the planning stages and had not finalised anything for the 2027 parade, and that he wants PIDCI to build stronger ties with organisations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and beyond, and to involve young people.

"I firmly believe that the future of PIDCI is not about one person. It is about all of us," he said in PIDCI's announcement. The new board includes members with backgrounds in nonprofit leadership, law, finance, engineering and business, among them Mercedes Arellano of the Tagoloan Heritage International Society and certified public accountant Janeth Blake.