Rizal’s Birth Anniversary Celebrated in Swiss City Where Luneta Monument Was Made
Ambassador to Switzerland Denis Yap Lepatan and Mayor Kristin T. Schnider lay a wreath at the bust of Dr. Jose P. Rizal. (Berne PE photo)
BERNE 02 July 2018 – Ambassador to Switzerland Denis Yap Lepatan and Honorable Kristin T. Schnider, Mayor of the City of Wassen, laid a wreath at the bust of Dr. Jose P. Rizal at the open-air museum in Steinbruck Antonini in Wassen on 25 June 2018.
Philippine Embassy personnel, and officials of the City Council of Wassen were present during the wreath-laying ceremony, as well as descendants of workers at Rieswald Quarry where the Gotthard granite stones that were used to construct the obelisk of Rizal’s monument at Luneta in Manila.
“It is the strength of the granite of this area which connects the countries, and which is also the foundation of the monument of Dr. Jose P. Rizal in Manila,” Mayor Schnider said.
“We are connected as well in the spirit of the national hero which is very similar to the spirit of the Swiss national hero William Tell,” the Mayor added.
Ambassador Lepatan thanked the officials of Wassen for the warm welcome and reception.
“The persona that William Tell embodied immensely inspired Rizal by shaping and stirring his ideological ideas leading to the Philippine revolution in the 19th century,” Ambassador Lepatan stressed in his speech.
He also acknowledged the role of Switzerland in its chairmanship of the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission in the Philippines’ quest for just and lasting peace in Mindanao.
In his concluding remarks, the Ambassador expressed the Philippines’ intention to deepen its relations with Wassen and the entire Swiss Confederation. END
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Guests and officials from the Philippine Embassy and the City of Wassen pose for a group photo. (Berne PE photo)