PH Consulate General in Dubai, Filipinos in Ras Al Khaimah Stage Independence Day Celebration
Some 4,000-5,000 Filipinos troop to RAK Mall to celebrate Philippine Independence Day in Ras Al Khaimah. (Dubai PE photo)
DUBAI 18 July 2018 — The Philippine Consulate General in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and the Filipino Community of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) held Philippine Independence Day celebrations on 06 July 2018 at the RAK Mall.
Between 4,000 to 5,000 Filipinos attended and participated in the event, the second time the Filipino Community there staged its own Independence Day celebrations, apart from the grand event of the Filipino Community of Dubai and the northern emirates on 15 June 2018 at Dubai’s World Trade Center.
In his welcome remarks, Consul General in Dubai Paul Raymund P. Cortes stressed the importance of community efforts in celebrating Philippine culture, heritage, and history, adding that commemoration of our identity as a people is always most welcome.
Joining the celebrations were Consulate and Philippine Overseas Labor Office officials, officials from the Filipino Community in Dubai and the other emirates, RAK Mall authorities, and local government officials.
Also participating were the delegation from the Leyte Normal University, who had just come off a very successful presentation in Dubai the night before.
The program included illustration contests, song and dance competitions, and exhibits from local authorities and local businesses.
Consul General Cortes also highlighted the need to continue honing local talent from among the overseas Filipino Community.
He cited the case of Ralph Malaigro who won last year‘s Dubai Dubai Músikahan 2017 Grand Prize, and whose composition had been recorded by Star Music artist Bugoy Drilon and subsequently produced and distributed globally.
The Consul General added that there is a need to recalibrate the story of the diaspora of the Filipino, to that from being remittance-centric to becoming more active and engaged members of the creative spirit and industry of the global Filipino.
RAK is the UAE’s northernmost emirate where some 15,000 Filipinos reside. It is the UAE’s prime ecotourism destination. END
For more information, visit www.dubaipcg.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinDubai/ or the Consul General's FB page @phcongendubaipaulcortes
Vice Consuls Marianne Bringas (second from left), and Beth Ramos (third from left), and Deputy Consul General Jun Deunas (second from right) present a certificate to Philippine Airlines for its support to the celebrations. (Dubai PCG photo)
Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes delivers his opening remarks. (Dubai PCG photo)