Celebrating Filipino spirit and sovereignty

Tycoons and businessmen traveled to China last week to join the Philippine embassy in Beijing in celebrating with valiant pride the 127th anniversary of Philippine Independence.

Low key snack foods taipan Carlos Chan, Salvador “Buddy” Zamora of the Tranzen Group, Suzan Lim of the Solid Group Inc. and Cherry Mobile’s Maynard Ngu, who is also the country’s special envoy to China, were among Ambassador Jaime FlorCruz’s special guests, the embassy said in a statement.

The celebrations were a homecoming of sorts as the embassy hosted the 127th Independence Day reception for the Filipino community in China.

Celebrating Independence Day this year – whether in China or here at home – is especially poignant, given all that’s happening in the Philippines, such as the Senate’s handling of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.

One can’t help but wonder what our heroes would say about how today’s lawmakers are interpreting the Constitution and the rule of law they once fought so hard to establish.

But that’s a thought I’ll save for another day.

As for the celebration in Beijing, the embassy chose to celebrate our history and culture, drawing lessons from the nation’s heroes.

“It has been over a century since we gained our independence from more than 300 years of colonial rule under Spain. Our forebears fought hard for our freedom and gave up their lives in the name of nationhood and sovereignty,” FlorCruz said.

The celebration, with the theme “Kalayaan 2025: Diwa sa Pagkakaisa at Paghilom ng Bayan,” was meant to inspire the Filipino community that gathered for the occasion, the ambassador said.

It was also a night of festivities, heritage and music. The embassy welcomed guests with Santacruzan-style arches. It also recreated some Filipino dishes during the Malolos Congress – Crevettes Roses – nilasing na hipon style, Abats de Poulet a la Tagalog or adobong balunbalunan at manok and Jambon en Asperges served Bulakenya-style with asparagus.

What became known as the Malolos Congress was convened on Sept. 15, 1898 and the first Philippine Constitution, called the Malolos Constitution, was approved on Jan. 20, 1899, ushering in what is called the First Philippine Republic.(Constitutionnet.org).

Our sovereignty, the ambassador reminded, was fought hard by countless Filipinos including Lapulapu, Sultan Kudarat and Rajah Sulayman, Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, Antonio and Juan Luna, GomBurZa, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Epifanio delos Santos and many more.

At the reception, the famed Loboc Children’s Choir performed for the Filipino community, with a repertoire that included Ang Aking Bayan, Larong Pinoy, folk song Manang Biday and a medley of OPM.

#MadeItInChina

Members of the Filipino community from Beijing, Shanghai, Gansu, Changchun joined the event at the embassy.

In an earlier column, I talked about the embassy’s #MadeItInChina online series which recognized Filipinos who are waving the Philippine flag in China.

The series turned into a book which the embassy launched during the Independence Day reception.

“Their stories – their dreams, struggles and successes – represent the best of the Philippines and the good in the Filipino. They are ordinary Filipinos doing extraordinary deeds. They are the Filipinos who made it in China,” FlorCruz said during the event.

Chan, chairman of Oishi maker Liwayway, leads the list of more than 50 Filipinos who indeed made it in China.

FlorCruz said Chan is one of the pioneers of the Filipino diaspora in China. Even before China opened up to foreign business, he had been scouting opportunities and building friendships in China.

“Mr. Carlos Chan truly is our role model, one of the first Filipinos who has proudly #MadeItInChina!” the ambassador said.

Congratulations to Mr. Chan and the rest of the Filipinos recognized by the embassy.

As ambassador FlorCruz said, each and every one of us Filipinos are all ambassadors of goodwill – whether in China or elsewhere.

Malolos Constitution sells for P2.6 M

Speaking of the Malolos Congress, a rare copy sparked a bidding war at the recent Leon Gallery auction.

In the end, a rare, official copy of the Malolos Constitution, which gave birth to the Philippines as the first democratic republic in Asia, fetched P2.6 million ($47,333), surging 26 times its starting price of only P100,000 ($1,790).

As The STAR reported last week, the important historical document is from the collection of Filipino historian Ambeth Ocampo.

I hope the frenzied bidding reminds each and everyone of us Filipinos, especially our politicians, of the fundamental value of our Constitution.

Another auction highlight was The Burning of Manila, a painting by Fernando Amorsolo which depicts the bombing and burning of the Philippine capital on New Year’s Day in 1942, a day before the Japanese imperial forces occupied the country.

The painting was sold for P36.04 million in a record-setting sale of the masterpiece, which is from the collection of Filipino industrialist and businessman Don Enrique “EZ” Zobel. It was once loaned to the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila, until the family decided it was time to pass the family heirloom to its new owner.

Both the Malolos Constitution and The Burning of Manila are testaments to our history, which serve as important reminders for the present. One reminds us of what we must uphold, the other reminds us of what must not happen again.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on X @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.