17 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 General and an Independence Celebration Night at the Jeddah Marriott Hotel on June 12.
During the flag-raising ceremony, Philippine Consul General Leo Tito L. Ausan, Jr. led the reading of Independence messages by government officials, highlighted by that of President Benigno S. Aquino III. The messages of Vice President Jejomar Binay, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario, Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory L. Domingo, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Administrator Rebecca Calzado and Social Welfare and Development 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, Consulate General officers, staff and their respective spouses, as well as the female wards of the Filipino Workers Resource Center and male “Bawadi” wards housed at the 3rd floor of the Consulate General. A simple salu-salo or Brunch ng Bayan capped the flag-raising ceremony.
In the evening, the Consulate General 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, Consul General Ausan discussed the significance of this year’s Independence Day theme, “Kalayaan 2015: Tagumpay sa Pagbabagong Nasimulan, Abot-kamay na ng Bayan”, and reassured the “Boss Kabayans-OFWs” that now, more than ever, they can be almost certain that the tens of billions of dollars in foreign currency earnings that they send back home to form part of the country’s economic and financial cycle are well-spent by the government for the sake of their children and their children's children.
After his remarks, Consul General Ausan was joined onstage by ASEAN Consuls General for the slicing of the mango cake especially baked for the Independence celebration.
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, from the special traditional “animal and warrior” dance numbers of Aetas OFWs, the first batch of Aeta OFWs in the Kingdom, and the folk dance numbers from the teachers of the Philippine 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. Filipino food such as kare-kare, kinilaw and the all-time favorite halo-halo as dessert, which were among the more popular dishes served during the dinner, 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 flag raising and the evening Independence Dinner, the Consulate General and the Filipino community 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 May 28 to 29, the Dreamstar Productions organized the “Fiestayahan sa Jeddah – Pasiklaban at Musikahan sa Gitnang Silangan Season 2” at Reem Riviera Beach Resort, while on June 11, an OPM Amateur singing contest dubbed as “Kanta Pilipinas… Himig OPM” was organized by the Filipino Artiste Migrant Ensemble (FAME) at the Consulate General premises. On the other hand, an Independence Day Photography Contest was organized on June 12 by the Unite – Jeddah Photographers & Friends at the Consulate General 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 June 12, with the aim to promote the Philippine food industry in Saudi Arabia. A cultural program and raffle draws were also held inside the store.
The Independence celebration was capped with another Philippine Food Festival held at the Carrefour (Flamingo Mall), on June 14, the 2nd year in a row at the French supermarket. The event was a collaboration between the Philippine Trade & Investment Center (PTIC) and the Carrefour, and included 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