Independence Day can also be regarded as the birth of a nation. This is echoed in countless speeches and messages that aim to inspire its people. Therefore, to put in simplistic terms, Philippine Independence Day is our birthday. All the celebrations, trappings and flag raising ceremonies serve to reinforce the fact that it is our birthday. <\/p>\n
It is a time to reflect on the gift of freedom and rekindle the Filipino spirit. It is a time to pump patriotism through our veins that we all may throb and pulsate again as Filipinos. It is a time to take a break from the rigours of our daily life and catch up with old friends. <\/p>\n
And since it is our Birthday, one would expect that the birthday celebrant is allowed to speak. In the absence of the President, their duly designated representative speaks on their behalf. While it is nice to invite our Aussie friends to our birthday, the fact remains that it is our birthday! <\/p>\n
When the new Philippine Consul General Anne Jalondo-on Louis opened the doors of Philippine House and hosted the annual Flag Raising event at Philippine House last June 12, it was heart-warming. It was nice to meet her young family; get acquainted with the Consular staff who are forever bothered by our pleases; mingle with our kababayans and devour that hearty Filipino breakfast that had been prepared. And despite the downpour, the event went undeterred. Consul General Louis spoke of unity and a video clip of President Benigno Aquino III\u2019s message was shown. We felt at home. <\/p>\n
However, the Flag Raising event at Blacktown went completely awry (aray could be quite right). The Flag raising ceremony hosted by Australian Philippine Services League (APSL) drew gasps and whispers from the audience who were aghast when Consul Anthony Reyes, representing the Philippine Consulate was not asked to speak. The ramblings of \u201cwhy not?\u201d continued even after the event.\u201d It\u2019s our birthday and the birthday celebrant was not asked to speak!<\/p>\n
According to the Chief honcho of APSL, Mr. Crescencio Pilao<\/strong>, \u201cIt was a management decision.\u201d Pilao elaborates: \u201cIt is protocol to invite the Consulate, but it is not protocol that they speak. We invited the Philippine Ambassador, who could not make it and a representative of the Philippine Consulate. There is nothing personal to the deputy consul. The management of APSL decided that a Federal member and a State member would speak. Thus, John Robertson, Leader of the (NSW) Opposition and Ed Husic, were asked to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey can raise the question, but we will not be dictated. It was a management decision. Next year, it may be different\u201d Pilao emphatically adds. <\/p>\n With a reply like that, what else is there to say except\u2026 but\u2026but\u2026.but, it\u2019s our birthday! And it\u2019s not even the organisation\u2019s birthday. This is not a battle of Councils. It is our birthday!<\/p>\n It may be a management decision, but it\u2019s still a faux pas! Be it for the lack of knowledge or the absence of common sense, what is most obvious is that the thinking process is flawed. Garbage in\u2014garbage out! Maybe it was the rain that clouded their better judgment or maybe the winds blew away any traces of common sense (in them). Who knows? But can we really entrust the Filipino\u2014this group to represent us or to make decisions on our behalf? Frightening, don\u2019t you think? Can these people even march?<\/p>\n Perhaps, when Australia Day comes, the Filipino may be asked to speak, or maybe the Chinese \u2026or any other nationality. It would be just as laughable but why not? It is a scary thought, don\u2019t you think? <\/p>\n The public flag raising ceremony was initially started in Parramatta to coincide with Centennial Celebrations during the term of then Consul General Ariel Abadilla. Why? Because Parramatta is a sister city of Cebu. It was only right that such cultural and ceremonial exchange take place there with the involvement of Banag-Banag. After all their members are Visayan speaking and mostly from Cebu. If other flag ceremonies happen at other Councils, then that is fine \u2013 BUT let us not forget it is our birthday! <\/p>\n At yet another mind boggling scene\u2014this year marks the 150th Birthday of our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal and I understand that a painting was to be unveiled at Bulwagang Rizal Hall at the Consulate. Oh my, that\u2019s a real bulaga for Rizal who will be turning over in his grave! As for me, I will need to see the actual process to believe it! <\/p>\n This reminds me of the scene in the movie \u201cGrease\u201d when Travolta screams\u2026\u201doooh, they\u2019re multiplying!\u201d And trust me, it is not \u201cheartening\u201d\u2026it is \u201churtening\u201d! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Independence Day can also be regarded as the birth of a nation. This is echoed in countless speeches and messages that aim to inspire its people. Therefore, to put in simplistic terms, Philippine Independence Day is our birthday. All the celebrations, trappings and flag raising ceremonies serve to reinforce the fact that it is our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1378"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1378\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}