29 August 2013 - The Philippine Permanent Mission to ASEAN celebrated on August 19 the 46th Anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN as well as the commemoration of the Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa in simple ceremonies held at the new chancery of the Mission.
The program included mass singing of the ASEAN and Philippine anthems, speeches by Ambassador Elizabeth P. Buensuceso, Philippine
Permanent Representative to ASEAN, and Ambassador Maria Rosario Aguinaldo, Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia, and choral reading of a Rizal poem and the singing of Filipino songs. A Jakarta-based Filipino band, Allegria, serenaded guests with Filipino songs including Dahil Sa Iyo, Kalesa, Anak as they enjoyed the Filipino breakfast prepared by the Mission.
In her speech, Permanent Representative Buensuceso highlighted the growing importance of ASEAN as a world player in political security, economic and socio-cultural cooperation and how the Philippines and the Mission are responding to this challenge. Ambassador Aguinaldo, on the other hand, reminded the audience to use Filipino in official and everyday discourse. She noted the fact that most literature written about the Philippines and Filipinos were written in foreign languages.
The event, attended by ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General for Political and Security Community Nyan Lynn, and other officials from the ASEAN Secretariat, Embassy and Mission officials and members of the Filipino community, also served as an occasion to welcome the Mission’s friends at the new location of the chancery. END