30 June 2012 - Nearly 350 guests joined the celebration of the 114th anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence during the Philippine National Day reception hosted by Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand Virginia H. Benavidez at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington on June 19.
Present during the reception were guests from the diplomatic corps, government of New Zealand, members of Parliament, business sector, academe, churches, various organizations and associations, members of the Filipino community and other groups.
New Zealand's Minister for Courts, Associate Minister of Justice and Associate Minister for Social Development Chester Borrows was the guest of honour.
He pointed out the importance of the Philippines-New Zealand partnership in the Asia-Pacific region and the Philippines' respected voice arising from the country's traditions of openness, democracy and tolerance.
He acknowledged the Filipino community's creative excellence and vital contributions to New Zealand life and the mutual support of the Filipinos and New Zealanders during the Christchurch earthquake and typhoon disaster in Mindanao, respectively.
Minister Borrows also spoke on the significance of the visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully to the Philippines in July and the state visit of President Benigno S. Aquino III to New Zealand in October. He likewise spoke on both countries' on-going and prospective collaboration in the political and defence realms. He also spoke on both countries' increasing economic cooperation, within the context of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), and in crucial areas in the dairy industry, development assistance in geothermal energy, forestry and expansion of air, education, information technology, services and tourism links.
The Minister also mentioned the ASEAN scholarships and the selection of two young Filipino women entrepreneurs as the first participants in the ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative.
Minister Borrows then offered a toast to the President, the government and people of the Philippines.
In her remarks, Ambassador Benavidez thanked Minister Borrows for gracing the celebration. She gave an overview on the legacy of freedom of the Filipinos, the meaning of this year's Independence Day theme, and a background on the commemoration of the 151st birth anniversary of Dr. Jose P. Rizal.
She likewise highlighted the positive economic developments in the Philippines as a result of President Aquino's good governance, policies and reform agenda.
The Ambassador shared that as the Philippines and New Zealand mark the 46th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, the vital and vibrant part of the Filipinos' economic and community life, their multi-cultural enrichment and the support that both Filipinos and New Zealanders extended in times of disasters in Christchurch and in Mindanao broadened and nurtured their close people-to-people interaction through all these years.
Ambassador Benavidez described the broad spectrum of the two countries' shared adherence to democratic values, good governance, rules based approach, peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for human rights. She likewise shared about the two countries' cooperation and support in the regional and multilateral fora, exchange of visits at the leaders and ministerial levels, increased trade, and investment and tourism as bilateral and AANZFTA partners.
She also mentioned both sides' defence and police cooperation, synergy and complementarity in the ICT, manufacturing, dairy, renewable energy and services sectors and business councils relationships.
Expected to also foster greater understanding between Filipinos and New Zealanders are the ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative's first two places given to the Philippines, the New Zealand-ASEAN Scholarship Awards, which were received by fifteen post graduate scholars in various fields, and the signing of the Working Holiday Arrangement in July, the Ambassador stated.
"With our cooperation growing stronger and becoming more broad-based, the Philippines looks forward to advancing the momentum gained in the priority areas of direct air connectivity, tourism promotion, higher value knowledge processing in the IT sector, renewable energy, agriculture, environment, rebuilding and reconstruction projects, disaster preparedness and mitigation and other important areas. Together, we will reach greater heights, mark significant milestones and break new ground," Ambassador Benavidez remarked.
She offered a toast to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of New Zealand, the government and people of New Zealand and the enduring friendship between the Philippines and New Zealand.
The Wellington Filipino Choir rendered the Philippines and New Zealand national anthems and the song "Magsimula Ka."
Ms. Ivy Rose Padilla, best actress of the 2011 New Zealand's North Area Performance Theatre Awards for her lead role as Kim in "Miss Saigon", together with New Zealand's Mr. Matthew Pike and musical director and keyboardist Hayden Taylor, impressed the guests with their interpretation of "Sun and Moon" and "The Prayer."
Bobby and Ogie Catalan serenaded the guests with their repertoire of English, Filipino and Spanish songs while the choir of the Filipino Harvest Ministry for Christ greeted the guests with their rousing "We Say Mabuhay" song.
The guests said that it was a memorable evening of Filipino talent and creativity at their very best.
The Filipinos said that the speeches, music and cultural presentations heightened their nationalistic fervor, their pride of being Filipino and their commitment to do more for the Philippines and the Filipino people.
