12 June 2012 - The officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy in Dili, together with members of the Filipino community, commemorated the 114th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence with a flag-raising ceremony at the Embassy grounds.
The members of the outgoing batch of Filipino United Nations (UN) police officers in Timor-Leste, with Contingent Commander Supt. Mario Llorin, led the rendition of the Philippine National Anthem and the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Philippine National Flag.
Third Secretary and Vice Consul Maurice A. Tiempo read the Independence Day messages of President Benigno S. Aquino III and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario.
Expounding on this year's theme of Kalayaan: Pananagutan ng Bayan para sa Tuwid na Daan, Philippine Ambassador to Timor-Leste Maria Aileen H. Bugarin stressed that the toil of nation-building is a shared commitment and responsibility of both the government and the citizenry. She then urged the Filipino community "to become willing partners and dedicated collaborators" in the collective quest for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Philippines.
Ambassador Bugarin also enjoined the Filipinos in Timor-Leste to heed the call of President Aquino not to waver from the straight and righteous path, and to continue respecting both Philippine and Timor-Leste laws.
In commemoration also of the International Day of Peacekeepers, which is celebrated every 29th day of May, the Ambassador thanked the current batch of Filipino peacekeepers for boosting and elevating the image of the Philippines and the Filipino people before the host country and its people. To honor the members of the Philippine contingent, the Embassy invited United Nations (UN) Police Commissioner Luis Miguel Carrilho to the commemorative activity.
