"We continue to defend that autonomy enhances Portuguese democracy and brings people closer to decisions. This autonomy cannot be interpreted as a replacement for the responsibilities of the Government of the Republic with the Azores", said the regional deputy of CDS-PP, a party that is part of the Government of the Azores, with the PSD and the PPM.

According to Catarina Cabeceiras, who spoke at the solemn session of the Day of the Azores - this year at the headquarters of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region, in the city of Horta, Faial Island - "there are priority matters that have dragged on over the years and that urgently need to be implemented".

"This is the case of the revision of the current Regional Finance Law, since underfunding cannot persist in areas such as Health and Education, or the clarification of the concept of shared management of the sea, so that the Azores are not deprived of their rights", she justified.

The fire at the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo (HDES) on May 4, added the Christian Democrat, "created a situation of great complexity" for the Regional Health Service, which also requires the Government of the Republic to "respond quickly so that normality of operation can be restored as soon as possible".

Still on the subject of the fire at the hospital in Ponta Delgada, the largest health unit in the archipelago, the parliamentary leader of CDS-PP/Azores considered that the matter "requires the solidarity and responsibility of all to be overcome as quickly as possible".

"In view of this whole scenario, what is expected is that the Regional Government, on the one hand, continues to use all the necessary means at its disposal to face the current situation of regional public calamity and, on the other hand, continues public policies in the most varied areas of response to families, institutions and companies, always having stability and consistency as watchwords", she said.

For Cabeceiras, despite the fact that the autonomy of the Azores was a conquest, "it is never guaranteed and must always be defended".

"This is, therefore, a design that summons us all - citizens, parliament, government, representatives in the Azores in the Republic, in Europe and in the world. We can never forget that our autonomy is not the point of arrival, but rather the starting point", she said.

On the Day of the Azores, the CDS-PP deputy greeted "all Azoreans wherever they may be, in particular all those who unequivocally and professionally responded and have responded to the situation that occurred at HDES - firefighters, health professionals, all those involved".

The celebrations that are taking place today in the city of Horta are a joint organization of the Legislative Assembly and the Azorean Regional Government, following the institution of the Day of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, in 1980, to commemorate Azorean identity and autonomy.

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

At the solemn session, 31 Azorean honorary insignia will be awarded, which aim to distinguish citizens and entities that have distinguished themselves "for personal or institutional merit, acts, civic deeds or for services rendered to the region".

Two autonomous insignia of value will be awarded, 10 autonomous insignia of recognition, two of professional merit, three of industrial, commercial and agricultural merit and 14 autonomous insignia of civic merit.

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