Sixteen people were made New Zealand citizens at a Central Otago District Council ceremony yesterday, 10 of whom were from the Philippines.
They included five members of the Javier family and four members of the Tumabini family. Iza Haspela, of the Philippines, also received New Zealand citizenship.
Chyna Javier said she wanted to find a job for her husband Angelito Javier in New Zealand and moved here to have a better future for her children.
The Tumabini family said they moved to New Zealand from an over-crowded city in the Philippines and it had been ‘‘life-changing’’ to get work and settle in Alexandra, where everyone was friendly. It was a better place to raise a family, they said.
The new citizens were: Garry and Patricia Hilton; Angelito, Chyna, Carinthia, Adriana and Angelina Javier; Suman McIntosh; Maxine Miller; Sarah Tiong; Elizabeth, Rene, Earl Christian and Earl Mathew Tumabini; Iza Haspela; and Elise Velenski.Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan thanked them for choosing New Zealand to live in when they had "a world of choice". It was an honour to have them here, Mr Cadogan said.
