14 June 2015- The Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah commemorated the 117th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence with a morning flag-raising ceremony at the Consulate and an Independence Celebration Night at the Jeddah Marriott Hotel on 12 June 2015.
During the flag-raising ceremony, Consul General Leo Tito L. Ausan, Jr. led the reading of Independence messages by government officials, highlighted by that of Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III. The messages of Vice President Jejomar Binay, DFA Secretary Albert F. Del Rosario, DTI Secretary Gregory L. Domingo, DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, OWWA Administrator Rebecca Calzado and DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman were read by Consul Germinia V. Aguilar-Usudan, Vice Consul Alexander Joseph Estomo, Trade Executive Asst. Evangeline M. Pungutan, Labor Attache Jainal Rasul, Jr., Welfare Officer Amelito Adel and Social Welfare Attache Josephine Arang, respectively.
The simple but meaningful activity was attended by representatives from various Filipino Community organizations, officers and staff and spouses of the Consulate, as well as the female wards of the Filipino Workers Resource Center and male “Bawadi” wards housed at the 3rd floor of the Consulate. A simple salu-salo or Brunch ng Bayan capped the flag-raising ceremony.
In the evening, the Consulate hosted a well-attended dinner at the Jeddah Marriott Hotel. Guests include the Consul General of Indonesia and his spouse, and Consuls General of Thailand and Brunei, members of the Filipino community, media and Teachers from the Philippine curriculum schools in Jeddah.
In his remarks, Philippine Consul General Leo Tito L. Ausan Jr. cited that the theme for this year’s Independence Day celebration suggests, “Kalayaan 2015: Tagumpay sa Pagbabagong Nasimulan, Abot-kamay na ng Bayan”, reassures “Boss Kabayans-OFWs” that now, more than ever, you can be almost certain that the tens of billions of dollars in foreign currency earnings that you send back home to form part of our economic and financial cycle are well-spent by our government for the sake of your children and your children's children.
After his remarks, Consul General Ausan was joined onstage by ASEAN Consuls General for the slicing of the Independence celebration, Philippine mango cake.
The event was highlighted by the well-applauded performances from the DSON (a group of Filipino Artists in Jeddah) who sang Philippine nationalistic medley songs, the special traditional “animal and warrior” dance numbers from Aetas OFWs (the first batch of Aeta OFWs in the Kingdom), and the folk dance numbers from the teachers of the PH schools in Jeddah. The Knight Movers (KM), a homegrown teenage dance crew formed in 2009, fired up the stage with their Muslim dance “Singkil” and skillful performance of the famous “Tinikling” dance to the delight of the audience. After the program, the attendees made their way to the Mezzanine Foyer of the hotel for the sumptuous dinner. The Filipino food like kare-kare, kinilaw, which were among the more popular dishes served during the dinner, including the all-time favorite halo-halo as the dessert, and the rendition of more nationalistic and Filipino love songs made the event more festive and enjoyable for all the guests.
In addition to the customary morning raising of the Philippine flag and evening Independence Dinner, the Filipino community in Jeddah, in collaboration with the Philippine Consulate, held a series of activities that started in the last week of May to make the 117th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence more meaningful, memorable and enjoyable.
On 28-29 May 2015, the Dreamstar Productions organized the “Fiestayahan sa Jeddah – Pasiklaban at Musikahan sa Gitnang Silangan Season 2” at Reem Riviera Beach Resort, while on 13 June 2015, an OPM Amateur singing contest dubbed as “Kanta Pilipinas…Himig OPM” was organized by the Filipino Artiste Migrant Ensemble (FAME) at the PCG premises. On the other hand, an Independence Day Photography Contest was organized on 12 June 2015 by the Unite – Jeddah Photographers & Friends at the Consulate’s Hall. Consul General Ausan was present in all the affairs to give his inspirational message on the celebration and to thank the community partners for their support and cooperation in making the celebration a great success by showcasing the Filipinos’ ingenuity and talents featuring the famous Philippine folk dances, songs, traditional costumes, all-time favorite Filipino food/delicacies and a lot of entertainments.
SARAWAT Supermarket, with a long history of serving the Philippine community in Jeddah, has once again hosted a Philippine food festival in conjunction with Philippine Independence Day celebrations on 12 June 2015, to promote the Philippine food industry in Saudi Arabia. Raffle prizes and cultural program were held inside the store.
The Independence celebration was capped with another Philippine Food Festival held at the Carrefour (Flamingo Mall), on 14 June 2015, the 2nd year in a row at the French supermarket. The event, which is in collaboration between the Philippine Trade & Investment Center (PTIC) and the Carrefour, include the ribbon cutting and slicing of the Independence cake led by Consul General Ausan and the General Manager of Carrefour, product sampling and free dinner for all Filipino and expatriate shoppers. In his message, Consul General Ausan thanked the Carrefour for its participation to the Philippine Independence celebration and its support in promoting Philippine food. He further shared that the store’s General Manager has committed to make the festival an annual fare at Carrefour. END.
