22 June 2015 – The Philippine Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal celebrated the 117th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence (Kalayaan 2015) on June 14 with around 300 members of the Filipino community in Lisbon, Portugal along with their Portuguese friends and employers at the Pestana Palace in Lisbon.
The occasion was marked with cultural presentations from members of the community, a singing contest and Filipino food and delicacies.
The messages of the President of the Philippines, the Vice President, the Foreign Affairs Secretary and the Labor and Employment Secretary were read by Embassy officials led by Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe J. Lhuillier.
During his remarks to the community, Ambassador Lhuillier also took the opportunity to remind the community of next year’s national elections and encouraged them to get involved in choosing the leadership of the country as a way of honoring the sacrifices and courage of those who fought for our country and people’s freedom and independence.
During the event, Embassy personnel olso conducted overseas voters registration and distributed official Voters IDs.
Ambassador Lhuillier also announced the conduct of the 1st Philippine Ambassador’s Cup basketball tournament in which four teams drawn from members of the community will vie for the cup on June 28. END