Canberra Corner
My dear readers you wished you were in Canberra in June to experience all the religious and patriotic activities we participated in to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the Philippine Independence. Firstly I would like to let you know what is the significance of this day. It was on 12 June 1898 when the Filipino flag was first unfurled at the residence of Emilio Aguinaldo in Kawit, Cavite. He declared the Philippine's freedom from Spanish colonization.
On Sunday 8 June, we gathered at St Matthew's Church in Page for a Holy Mass celebrated by Archbishop Mark Coleridge and organized by Filcare and the MACE. He said that real freedom is our freedom from our earthly life when we finally join our Creator. The First Secretary Alex Go delivered a message from the Philippine Ambassador His Excellency Ernesto H De Leon who was in Darwin. His message was for us Filipinos in Australia not to forget our less fortunate kababayans in back home and thank the Lord for all the blessings we are enjoying in Australia.The Mass was followed by a merienda which the Archbishop was sorry to miss because he had to go back to the Cathedral for another . He said that he will miss the 'pancit' and told us to 'sige na' and 'salamat'. He asked why we Filipinos liked our pictures taken when we asked him to join us for photos.
On Monday 9 June, almost 200 people attended the flag raising ceremonies at the grounds of the Philippine Embassy. His Exellency Ernesto H De Leon, his wife Emilie and children and a grandson hosted the event which included the oath taking of five Canberrans who re-acquired their Filipino citizenship, medal of honours and plaques of appreciation to Filipino leaders in Canberra who assisted in some of the Embassy's activities. We were all very proud to see the raising of the Filipino flag and to sing our national anthem 'Bayang Magiliw' on this special occasion. The Ambassador's wife Emilie in her Filipino dress personally served the guests the Filipino delicacies of 'arroz caldo' and 'mami' with tokwa. We sat on wooden logs and tables picnic style and enjoyed saying hello to some people we usually meet only on this day. Father Ben Macajes delivered the convocation - he drove all the way from his parish which was five hours away from Canberra. Val Valdez was the chef extra ordinaire. The Rondanihan conducted by Roy Ramirez provided the Filipino music.
On 14 June Saturday was the culmination of all the activities. Almost 400 guests dressed in barongs, Maria Clara and suits arrived promptly at the Vikings Auditorium. The FCCACT executive committee did not disappoint the guests. I personally received congratulations at the start of the evening that this night was better than last year - the place was decorated with lots of reds, whites and blues and Filipino flags.
The welcome address from the FCCACT President Ariel Pattugalan included a call for Canberrans to unite so we can build a clubhouse for Filipinos where we can showcase the Filipino arts and culture. His Excellency Ambassador Ernesto H De Leon explained to us the significance of this day - that the Americans did not recognize our independence until 4 July 1946.
Miss Kate Scandrel represented the Chief Minister Jon Stanhope and ACT Minister for Multicultural Affairs John Hardgreaves. The Leader of the Opposition Zed Seselja also thanked the contributions of the Filipinos in the ACT community. Being an election year in Canberra - a number of candidates in the coming local elections were present. The ACTFA dance troupe as usual showed their dancing skills as well as colourful costumes. The Ligaya Performing Arts danced the Mazurka in their Maria Clara, the PAA choir sang Pagbabalik and Ako ay Filipino. The hit of the night (as voted by the audience) was the Simply the Best performance of the FCCACT Executive Committee. The crowd were surprised when Tina Turner (played by Liz Garrett) was introduced and Ariel Pattugalan and Norman Kalagayan came out as Raider and Rooster footballers. The crowd went on overdrive when the cheerleaders Lydia Nicholls, Jing Stanton, Perlita Swinbank and myself came out in our hilarious wigs and swaying our hips and twirling our pompoms. Unfortunately it was only a two minute performance. The guests danced all night and promised to come back next year. The FCCACT executive committee would like to thank all our guests, sponsors, raffle prize donors and Evelyn Greaves, Toti Umali, Raul Ruiz and Deo Montaos who helped us make the event a success.