18 July 2012- The Philippine Embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG) commemorated the 114th anniversary of the declaration of Philippine Independence on June 12 with a simple yet meaningful celebration at the Embassy grounds with members of the Filipino community.
The occasion began with a flag-raising ceremony in the morning, after which Mrs. Corazon Ilustre, wife of Finance Officer Manuel Ilustre read the Foreign Affairs Secretary's message.
Philippine Ambassador to Papua New Guinea Bienvenido V. Tejano then took the stage and delivered the President's Independence Day message followed by his personal message to the assembled crowd. The event was capped off by a community breakfast with traditional Filipino cuisine.
Aside from the solemn service at the Embassy, various other activities were held by different communities all over the country to celebrate our nation's most historic day.
The Filipino Association of PNG (FAPNG) in Port Moresby hosted a mini-concert with guest Filipino comedian Chabelita at the newly-constructed Filipino community center in the city on June 10.
The affair was well-attended not only by our kababayans, but also by several members of the diplomatic corps.
Ambassador Tejano took advantage of the event to deliver a short pre-Independence Day message before those in attendance.
The Filipino community in Lae City, Morobe Province likewise held a two-day celebration on June 16 and 17, which was attended by Ambassador Tejano and some Embassy personnel.
The Embassy took advantage of the festivity to conduct mobile passporting and overseas absentee voting (OAV) registration, which made the event doubly-meaningful for the attendees.
The Filipino community in Papua New Guinea is looking forward to next year's celebration, which they promised to be bigger and grander. END