30 October 2014 – Philippine Embassy in Canberra’s Second Secretary and Consul Grace Anne G. Bulos received seven Year 6 students from the Arden Anglican School of New South Wales on October 10 at the Chancery. The students were headed by Ms. Tiffany Pendlebury.

Before Consul Bulos gave her briefing to the students, Ms. Lorna Bacolong from the Embassy’s Labour Office and the Embassy Choir introduced some Filipino primary songs on counting and greeting entitled “Magbilang” and “Kumusta”.  The students enjoyed singing and dancing the songs in Filipino. 

The students were also introduced to some Philippine-made foods and juices such as dried Philippine mangoes, mango and tamarind candies, puto seko cookies, and calamansi, guyabano, orange and pineapple juices.

Consul Bulos gave a brief presentation on the Philippines covering its history, demography, population, government, way of life and some Filipino traits and characters. She also asked the Australian students to provide examples on the topics discussed using their own perspective in order to point out comparisons and similarities between the Philippines and Austrialia.

The Consul also explained that the first Filipino migrants in Australia in 1895 were called the  Manilamen  and served as divers and processors of pearl shells in the Northern Territory pearling industry. 

After the briefing, the students were shown videos on the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” tourism campaign, featuring our country’s beautiful places,  delicious food and traditional Filipino costumes and traits.

The event concluded with a photo opportunity of the students joined by Consul Bulos and other Philippine Embassy personnel. END