VP Binay Celebrates 115th Anniversary of Philippine Independence Day
with Filipino community in Frankfurt
09 June 2013, Frankfurt – Presidential Adviser for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), Vice President Binay ended his week-long working visit to Germany by joining the Filipino Community in Frankfurt in celebrating the mass at St. Martin Church in Dietzenbach and attending the commemoration of the 115th Anniversary of the Philippine Independence with the Filipinos in Frankfurt and surrounding towns. The event was organized by the Philippine Embassy, led by H.E. Ambassador Cleofe R. Natividad, in cooperation with Filipino community leaders in Frankfurt. The Mayor of Dietzenbach, Jürgen Rogg, also attended the mass and graced the Independence Day celebration.
An estimated one thousand Filipinos braved the rain to attend the Independence Day celebration held in the open air courtyard of St. Martin Church. As if by an act of God, the sun suddenly shone upon arrival of the Vice President. Celebrations kicked off with a warm welcome by Filipinos and solemn celebration of holy mass concelebrated by four (4) German and Filipino priests.
To bring the government closer to the Filipinos in Frankfurt, H.E. Ambassador Maria Cleofe R. Natividad read the message of H.E. President Benigno Aquino III while Honorary Consul General Gerhard Zeidler read the message of Hon. Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario. Ambassador Natividad thereafter reassured the Filipino community that the government was exerting efforts to address the gap left by the closing of the Philippine consulate in Frankfurt in 2012.
The centerpiece of the celebration was the message of Hon. Vice President Jejomar Binay during which he recalled key events that led to the Philippine independence to encourage Filipinos to value the freedom that the nation enjoy even while overseas. To cap his remarks, the Vice President briefed the Filipinos on the outcome of his talks with the officials of the German Federal Government particularly with respect to closer cooperation on the training of seafarers and the new window of opportunity offered by the conclusion of the bilateral Agreement for the deployment of Filipino health professionals to Germany.
On the other hand, in her message to the community, Ambassador Natividad highlighted the theme of this years independence “Ambagan sa Kaunlaran” and cited that the impressive independence day was organized and successfully staged in spite of absence of funds and short span of time. All thanks to the generous spirit of volunteerism of the Filipinos in Hessen, the “Friends of the Embassy”.
VP Binay and the Ambassador ensured that the barrio fiesta spirit prevailed throughout the festivities with both of them sharing in the cultural activities prepared by the Filipino community and the Filipino delicacies set in stalls. VP Binay sang solo excerpts from “Ang Bayan” ko. He also joined Ambassador Natividad in gamely dancing to the Gangnam song, to the delight of the crowd.
Before the conclusion of the program, Mr. Klaus W Hartung, owner of Transwing Gallery presented the Vice President with his latest art book co-authored with Mr. Oliver Quingco II entitled “Revisiting Mabini Art – Its Significance in the Development of Philippine Visual Arts, which featured series of Filipino paintings tracing the Mabini Art development since 1949 and its role in the development of visual arts in the Philippines. (END)
