Over 60 new Australians make pledge on Harmony Day

On Friday 62 people officially became Australian citizens at the Alice Springs Town Council Harmony Day ceremony.

New citizen Percival Pascual and his wife Illiyana are all smiles after the Alice Springs Town Council Harmony Day citizenship ceremony on March 20. Photo: EMMA MURRAY

For Percival Pascual, becoming an Australian citizen is a “dream come true”.

Originally from the Philippines, Mr Pascual moved to Australia in July 2014 to study nursing in Perth.

On Friday Mr Pascual was one of 62 people who officially became Aussies at the Harmony Day citizenship ceremony.

“It’s an opportunity that’s not given to everyone, so I feel really happy and blessed that I finally got the citizenship,” he said.

Mr Pascual has been in Alice Springs for three years with his wife Illiyana, who moved to Australia from the Philippines in 2017 after the pair wed.

“We’ve known each other for half of our lives,” he said.

“We had a civil wedding in 2017, and in 2018 we had a church wedding.”

Both ceremonies were in the Philippines.

An excited Mrs Pascual was on photography duties when her husband was presented with his citizenship certificate.

Mr Pascual said they plan to continue to live in Alice Springs for many years to come.

“I’m enjoying being around people from lots of different cultures – that’s something I don’t get back in my country,” he said.

“Alice Springs is a small town and I like the laid back set up here; everything is very assessable and convenient.”

“It’s just the flies that annoy me, really.”

With current restrictions on group gatherings, Friday’s citizenship ceremony was a little differently to normal.

Alice Springs Town Council CEO Robert Jennings said the event was carried out in complete compliance with recommendations by the Australian Federal Government Department of Home Affairs.

“Council did implement a revised program that contained only the essential elements, and the full 62 conferees were broken into three smaller groups of approximately 20 to allow for social distancing measures, in line with national public health advice,” he said.