03 July 2015 - The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco held an event on June 01 at the Kalayaan Hall to kick off all the Independence Day events being celebrated by the various Filipino-American communities in the Bay Area, as well as strengthen ties with the community leaders of these organizations.

Named KalayaanSF, the Philippine Consulate General partners with the Filipino community in San Francisco to create a series of events celebrating the commemoration of Philippine Independence.  Previous events under KalayaanSF include a reception, the outdoor celebration at Union Square, and a business forum.  This year, KalayaanSF 2015 has three events calendared on three consecutive weekends:  the Evening Gala held at San Francisco’s City Hall on June 12; SangDiwa, a Global Arts Forum and Exposition held at the Kalayaan Hall on June 20, and the outdoor event held at Union Square on June 27.

In his remarks, Philippine Consul General to san Francisco Henry S. Bensurto, Jr. stressed the importance of celebrating milestones in our Philippine history and preserving our heritage and culture for the second- and third-generation Filipino-Americans who live in the United States. 

He added that President Benigno S. Aquino III’s battle cry of “daang matuwid” has finally borne fruit, with the Philippines’ ranking in corruption perception improving by four points from 2012-2014 in a study conducted by Transparency International. This, in turn, has increased confidence about the viability of doing business in the Philippines by the international community.

Consul General Bensurto gave the various communities a platform to promote their independence day activities, which is in line with the Consulate General’s desire to connect communities in the Bay Area and beyond, and make sure that the cultural heritage of the Philippines is preserved for the future generations of Filipino-Americans, and to impress upon the community that being one of the largest Asian minorities in the country gives them power and a voice that must be harnessed in the future.

Leaders of the Filipino-American organizations from Daly City, Alameda and San Jose promoted their flag raising ceremony at their respective City Hall offices, while Vallejo promoted PistasaNayon, and  Union City promoted Adobo Nation, to name a few.  Apart from the organizations, sponsors of KalayaanSF 2015, and the media also attended the event. The event culminated in networking over heavy cocktails of Filipino food. END