28 September 2016 — Eighty Filipino nationals attended a talk hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Brunei Darussalam with National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Chairman Felipe M. De Leon, Jr. entitled “Image of the Filipino as Southeast Asian” at the Embassy on August 26.

In his lecture, Chairman De Leon discussed the origins of the early settlers of Southeast Asia, their cultures, characteristics and achievements. He gave samples of similarities among the settlers, who later became inhabitants of now Southeast Asian countries.

Chairman De Leon then discussed in detail distinctive Filipino traits. He focused on the Filipino’s Kapwa-based Culture, which enables every Filipino to treat others as himself. According to him, the value of kapwa inspires Filipinos to treat one another as equals and it makes Filipinos easily connect with other people.

Chairman De Leon’s lecture heightened the attendees’ understanding of their culture as well as that of their ASEAN neighbors. END