MANILA, Philippines - The Austrian National Day Reception was held last 24 October at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati. It was the 4th National Day Reception for Ambassador Wilhelm M. Donko and his wife Yan in the Philippines, since they arrived in August 2009. The ambassador mentioned that 2012 was a very special year in the bilateral relations; as it is exactly 140 years that an Austrian representative office was opened in the Philippines. He said that the former Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph had signed the documents for the appointment of the first Austrian Honorary Consul in Manila in 1871, but it was only in 1872 when the first Austrian Consulate in the Philippines was opened physically, i.e. exactly 140 years ago.