Muscat - The Philippines embassy yesterday celebrated the 2007 Jose Rizal Day, commemorating the 111th death anniversary of their national hero Dr Jose P. Rizal. The theme for the Jose Rizal Day was Diwang Rizal: Gabay sa Matatag na Bansa.
A flag raising ceremony led by Dr Mac Arthur F. Corsino, charge d`affaires, followed by a song and drama programme by school children depicting the role played by Dr Rizal in the liberation of Philippines, was the highlights of the function held at the Philippine embassy premises.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Mac Arthur said that Rizal was not only the soul and inspiration of the Philippine revolution, but was also known as the First Filipino and the Pride of the Malay Race.
“Rizal`s martyrdom in 1896 triggered the revolution that led to the Philippine independence in 1898 and the founding of the Philippine Republic in 1899. His ideas formed the conceptual foundation of the tenets of the Philippine democracy,” said Dr Mac Arthur, who is a respected academician and a scholar of Philippines history. Dr Mac Arthur recited some excerpts from the novel El Filibusterismo, which is a sequel to Rizal`s first novel the Noli Me Tangere, which describes Rizal`s love for his country.
According to Dr Mac Arthur, Rizal was known for many things: as a genius, a scientist, an artist, a master of languages, an eye doctor, a poet, a novelist and was Asia`s first modern non-violent proponent of political reform.
Dr Mac Arthur opined that indeed Rizal, Rabindranath Tagore, Sun Yat Sen and Mahatma Gandhi were the four Asian leaders who created a new climate that led to the fall of colonialism and the rise of new nations after World War II. And among these four, Rizal was the first to advocate reform and liberty for his country.
The function was attended by embassy officials, Filipino community leaders, faculty members and students of the Philippine School in Muscat. The Performing Arts Club of the Philippine School performed a moving and inspirational dramatisation of Rizal`s work, which rekindled the pride for national identity among the Filipinos. The drama programme included song, poetry and rendition of Rizal`s literary works.
Omar M. Pangarungan, cultural and economic attaché, who conducted the programme, welcomed the guests while Norma Bartolome led the gathering in the invocation prayer. In his remarks, Omar said that the young generations are the hope of the fatherland and to be able to prepare themselves, they must continue listening to the experiences of the older generation and learn the good qualities of their seasoned diplomats if they wish to follow the footsteps of true statesmen.
Suhod V. Sinsuat, the administrative officer, read out a specially- composed poem on Rizal while Samuel Madrid, welfare officer gave the closing remarks.
Source: timesofoman.com (31 Desember 2007)
