23 July 2014 – The Philippine Embassy in Abuja commemorated the 150th Birth Anniversary of Apolinario Mabini through a lecture on the life of the Philippine hero on July 18 at the Philippine Embassy.
Philippine Ambassador to Nigeria Alex V. Lamadrid delivered the lecture to the audience made up of Embassy personnel, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and foreign guests. Mabini’s “The True Decalogue” was recited by Vice Consul Ralf G. Roldan.
Besides highlighting Mabini’s significance in Philippine history as a revolutionary as well as the first Prime Minister and Foreign Minister serving under President Emilio Aguinaldo, Philippine Ambassador Lamadrid likewise drew life lessons from Mabini, who lived for a higher purpose in the service of his country, with tenacity in the face of adverse physical challenges, and patience in the face of controversies spawned by his detractors. A lively Q & A followed Ambassador Lamadrid’s lecture, with many foreign guests expressing interest in learning in greater depth about Mabini’s life and works.
About 50 Filipino and foreign guests attended the lecture and the dinner that followed it.
Ambassador Lamadrid also announced that as part of the commemoration of the sesquicentennial of Mabini’s birth, the Embassy is organizing a mass anti-polio vaccination for Filipinos in Nigeria with the cooperation of Filipino communtiy organizations such as PPA, and the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health. The Embassy is planning similar mass anti-polio vaccinations for overseas Filipino workers in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. END