Filipinos in Germany Mark 119 Years of Philippine Independence
(Left photo) Embassy personnel and consular clients singing the Philippine national anthem at the chancery on June 13. (Right photo) Embassy personnel and consular clients posing for photo with the Independence Day cake.
29 June 2017 BERLIN — The Philippine Embassy in Berlin recently led a series of events commemorating the 119th Anniversary of the Declaration of Philippine Independence.
Independence Day Mass
The series of commemorative events commenced with the Santa Misa Para sa Bayan on June 11 at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Berlin. The mass started with a rousing singing of the Philippine National Anthem by the University of the Philippines Concert Chorus (UPCC), who were in Germany for a concert tour.
In her remarks after the Mass, Ambassador Melita Sta. Maria-Thomeczek extolled the country’s growth as a nation through 119 years. She asked everyone to pray for peace and stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters displaced by the continuing violence in Marawi City. Father Jun de Ocampo, the community’s Filipino Chaplain, offered prayers for the country. The Independence Day message of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano was read by Consul Adrian Elmer Cruz.
UPCC then regaled the Filipino and German audience with a mini concert. Featured were classic and contemporary Filipino songs, complete with choreography, and ending with the classic patriotic song, Bayan Ko.
A second collection was made during the mass for the benefit of Marawi. The donations will be sent through the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in the Philippines.
Flag ceremony at the Chancery
In the morning of June 13, Ambassador Thomeczek led Embassy personnel and consular clients in singing the Philippine national anthem during a flag ceremony at the Chancery. The Independence Day message of President Rodrigo R. Duterte was read by Vice Consul Alvin Malasig.
Free flowing coffee and a special Independence Day cake were served to consular clients to celebrate the occasion.
Commemorative events in other parts of Germany
Meanwhile, in Essen, a city in the State of North Rhine Westphalia in western Germany, Filipinos gathered for a simple flag ceremony and breakfast on Independence Day organized by Philippine Honorary Consul General Heinz-Peter Heidrich.
Consul General Heidrich greeted community members dressed in Filipiniana finery, and wished the Filipino nation peace and prosperity. The community chaplain, Father Dietmar Weber, complimented how community members have remained Filipinos at heart.
Earlier on June 06, the UPCC performed in the city of Frankfurt an der Oder, near the Polish border, in a concert organized by the Embassy and German parliamentarian Martin Patzelt.
This was followed by another concert on June 10, this time by the Palawan University Singers, in Kiel, Schleswig Holstein. Ambassador Thomeczek also extended her Independence Day message to the Filipino community in this northern German city.
Food festival
A key highlight of this year’s Independence Day celebrations is the month-long food festival dubbed, “Flavours of the Philippines,” which was launched last May 30. The food festival held a special Independence Day dinner reception on June 22 prepared by the renowned Kulinarya Team, a cooking demonstration at the Hamburg Hotel School, and a lecture on Filipino cuisine at the Brillat Savarin Culinary School in Berlin.
Special Independence Day set meals were also offered by the Embassy’s four partner restaurants in Berlin and Hamburg, and first customers and raffle winners were given free Kulinarya cookbooks.
For more information, visit www.berlinpe.dfa.gov.ph / www.philippine-embassy.de or https://www.facebook.com/philippineembassyberlin. END