02 September 2014 - The Philippine Embassy in Singapore successfully hosted the Inter-ASEAN Bowling Tournament 2014 on August 30 at Super Bowl Toa Payoh, Singapore.
The event, which was held as part of the 47th Anniversary of ASEAN, was participated in by 18 teams from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and embassies/high commissions of ASEAN member countries in Singapore. Participating bowlers were officers and staff of the MFA and ASEAN missions and their dependents, and members of their communities in Singapore.
Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Antonio A. Morales was joined at the tournament’s ceremonial roll-off by Indonesian Ambassador Andri Hadi, Thai Ambassador Marut Jitpatima, Cambodian Ambassador Cheth Naren, and Myanmar Ambassador Htay Aung, and representatives of MFA and ASEAN embassies/high commissions.
In his welcome remarks, Ambassador Morales expressed hope that this would be an annual ASEAN event in Singapore, and he thanked his counterpart for the current ASEAN chair, the Union of Myanmar, for allowing the Embassy the privilege him of organizing the tournament.
Ambassador Morales emphasized, “This is one unique way of celebrating the 47th anniversary of ASEAN and comes at a very crucial time as we prepare for ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015.”
At the end of the tournament, MFA defended its title as the Champion of the Team category. Indonesia came in second and Malaysia was third. In the individual category, M Ramanathan and Mr. Sebastian Ong of Singapore MFA bested all the other bowlers by emerging as champion and 1st runner up, respectively, while Alex of the Indonesian Embassy was 2nd runner up.
Aimed at deepening professional and personal ties among ASEAN countries and their officers and staff, their dependents, and respective communities, the annual tournament was also organized last year by the Philippine Embassy in Singapore under former Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Minda C. Cruz.
Similar sports activities, such as golf and badminton, are also being considered to be held in the future for the ASEAN missions and Singapore MFA. END