04 November 2013 — The booth of the Philippine Embassy in Pretoria was judged “Most Artistic” during the 2013 Diplomatic Fair organized by the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and held at the Union Building grounds in Pretoria on October 26.  The fair was open to the public.

The Philippine booth was decorated with Philippine tourism posters and national costumes, and displayed photographs of Philippine places of interest by Filipino photographer Atty.Paul Resurreccion.  Philippine Ambassador to South Africa Constancio Vingno, Jr. and Mrs. Yoko Ramos-Vingno welcomed visitors to the booth who admired the photographs and posters as well as the barong tagalog and terno on display.

During the fair, visitors were also treated to a cultural show featuring presentations from the different participating diplomatic missions.  The Philippines presented song numbers by Ms. Jetaime Yabut and Mr. Beau Isidoro.

The participation of Atty. Resurreccion and Ms. Yabut was made possible through coordination work by Project Director Stanley Fernandes  with the support of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT).

A panel of judges selected the Philippine booth as the “Most Artistic” and the award was presented to the Ambassador Vingno by DIRCO Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.  END