A Philippine Sculpture Rises in Da Nang, Viet Nam

“Unity in Community”, Philippine sculpture at the APEC Park in Da Nang, Viet Nam

10 November 2017 DA NANG — The sun briefly shone over rainy Da Nang in Viet Nam during the inauguration of the APEC Park in Viet Nam established for its 2017 hosting of APEC. His Excellency Pham Binh Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Vietnam, accompanied by Huynh Duc Tho, Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee, presided over the ceremony.

Philippine delegation and Vietnamese officials with artist Frederic Caedo. Photo from Da Nang Today   (http://www.baodanang.vn/english/photo-news/201711/apec-park-opens-in-the-city-2577365/)

The Philippine Government commissioned and donated a sculpture from artist Frederic Caedo, grandson of one of the Philippines’ most well-known sculptors Anastacio Caedo.  The bronze sculpture, entitled “Unity in Community”, depicts a rural Filipino family in harmony with the world. The Philippine sculpture is on permanent exhibit at the park.

The APEC Park inauguration began with the unveiling of a stone marker, followed by a tree planting by Ministers. Taguig Mayor Laarni Cayetano, spouse of Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano, led the Philippine delegation to the inauguration ceremonies.  Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Mr. Jose de Venecia, Jr., Special Envoy for APEC, Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Mr. Noel Servigon, and DFA Undersecretary for International Economic Relations and Philippine Senior Official for APEC Manuel A. J. Teehankee were present at the inauguration ceremony.

All 21 APEC Member Economies donated sculptures for permanent exhibit at the park. The Da Nang APEC Park is the second such park after the Philippine APEC Garden established in 1996 at the Philippine International Convention Center grounds in Pasay City. END

Mayor Laarni Cayetano, Special Envoy for APEC Jose de Venecia Jr., and DFA Undersecretary Manuel Teehankee plant a tree in Da Nang, Viet Nam, at the APEC Park