12 January 2010 - Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Minda Calaguian-Cruz led Embassy officers and staff, Filipino community leaders, and guests from the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs in commemorating the 113th anniversary of the death of Dr. Jose Rizal by offering a wreath of flowers at the Rizal marker located at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM).
The wreath-laying ceremony was followed by a short program and reception at the ACM lobby auditorium.
In her remarks, Ambassador Cruz emphasized the legacy and influence of Dr. Rizal not only in the Philippines but also throughout Southeast Asia, and the significance of Singapore in the hero's life.
Singapore was the first foreign country Dr. Rizal visited, setting off his well-documented journeys to other foreign soil, the last one before his execution in 1896.
Dr. Vicente Reyes, a Filipino professor at the National University of Singapore, read excerpts from Dr. Rizal's poem, Mi Ultimo Adios to the delight of the audience.
After the program, guests were treated to puto bumbong, bibingka, lumpiang shanghai, coffee, tea and salabat.
At the end of the reception, guests were given free passes to the museum's major exhibition on Philippine culture, "Land of the Morning: The Philippines and its People," which features rare and important pre-Hispanic artifacts on loan from museums and private collections in the Philippines, some of which are on public display for the first time. END