12 June 2014 - The Philippine Embassy in Rome celebrated the 116th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence with a full day schedule.

The celebration started early in the morning of 12 June with a flag-raising ceremony at the Embassy grounds attended by the Embassy personnel led by H.E. Ambassador Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr.

In the evening, Ambassador and Mrs. Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr. hosted a Diplomatic Reception at the MAXXI21 (Museo delle Arti del XXI secolo [National Museum of Art of the 21st Century] Restaurant), which was attended by members of the Diplomatic Corps, representatives from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other Government offices, as well as partner institutions, and friends of the Embassy.

In his Independence Day message, Ambassador Reyes said that “the dream of our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal for a Philippines with its head held up high, as expressed in his poem ‘My Last Farewell’ written on the eve of his execution was finally realized” in the proclamation of Philippine Independence on 12 June 1898.

“Thus was born the first Republic in Asia 116 years ago. To this day, we still sing the hymn composed by musician Julian Felipe and have as the symbol of the nation our tricolor flag with a sun and three stars representing Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, the three regions of our country,” said the Ambassador.

The Ambassador further said that the Philippines looks forward to furthering close ties with the Italian Republic and with multilateral organizations in Italy. It reiterates its gratitude, already previously communicated, to the immediate response of Italy to the catastrophe of Typhoon Haiyan in October 2013.

Ambassador Reyes was joined by Ambassador Andrea Perugini, Deputy Director General (Assistant Secretary) of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Countries of Asia and Oceania, in a toast to Philippine Independence and abiding friendship between the Philippines and Italy.

Rome-based Filipino cultural groups, the “Pinoy Teens” and “District Crew”, performed Filipino dance and song numbers to the guests’delight.

“Pinoy Teens”, a group of young Filipino students sharing a common passion for traditional Filipino music and dances rendered the following performances:

• “Tinikling”, the popular Filipino native dance which imitates the movements of the bird called “Tikling” as it tries to escape the bird trap that Filipino farmers put in rice fields to protect their grains from being eaten birds.

• “Ang Bayan Ko” (My Homeland), a song which describes how Filipinos fought for freedom against those who tried conquer the Philippines.

• “Binislakan”, a native dance which originates from the northern part of the Philippines (Pangasinan). “Bislak” means “sticks” in Pangasinense and this is where the name of the dance came from.

The second group of performers was “District Crew”, a group composed of Filipino youths from different dance groups who formed a bigger crew for the sake of friendship rather than rivalry.

District Crew performed for an awed audience a fusion of native and modern dances. A dance number composed of the seamless integration of the native Ifugao dance (Northern Luzon), the modern Hip-Hop, and culminating with the internationally-renowned Tinikling. The dance piece has been created by the District Crew to honor and pay homage to traditional Filipino dances to propagate it even in modernity.

The reception also featured an exhibit of the works of Filipino artists in Italy, including an Italian photographer, who seek to elevate the Filipino identity by highlighting the unique contribution of Philippine culture and arts in Italy.

1The works of Richard Gabriel, Efren Dordas, Paul Alex Samaniego, and Stefano Romano were exhibited to the guests of the diplomatic reception to recognize their valuable and continuing artistic contribution.

The Embassy’s commemorative newsletter “Roman Forum: Kalayaan Edition” on the occasion of the 116th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence was also launched during the event and distributed to guests after the reception.

An open bar featuring Distileria Limtuaco’s Paradise Mango Rum and other liquer was one of the highlights of the reception. Distileria Limtuaco sent some of its products all the way from Manila to be sampled by the guests of the diplomatic reception.