We are all envoys

Chinese New Year in the Philippines is a special occasion for many Filipinos as this celebrates prosperity, renewal and heritage. It is a time when people say goodbye to the past and welcome new opportunities as they enter into the new year.

Binondo in Manila is recognized as the first and oldest Chinese settlement in the Philippines. It was established in 1594 by Spanish Governor-General Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas and it was created to facilitate trade and served as a hub for commerce across the Pasig River from the walled city of Intramuros.

Having once worked in Intramuros for heritage projects, it is always a pleasure to be invited to celebrate with the Chinese embassy the much anticipated New Year. While the new ambassador, His Excellency Jing Quan, and his team have been busy working, already they have seen how much we Filipinos, especially our Filipino-Chinese community, cherish our Chinese New Year traditions in the country. Such traditions can be traced to as far back as the first settlement of Chinese communities in the Philippines, which explains why our shared culture is deeply rooted in a longstanding friendship.

During the ambassador’s message at the Chinese New Year celebration held at the Shangri-La The Fort in Taguig, I was not surprised when he asked how relations between China and the Philippines can stabilize as soon as possible and continue moving forward as, based on my own personal experience, that too was what I once felt when I had the mission to bring back the Spanish language into our curriculum. In those days, while being part Spanish, part Filipino and even part Chinese, it wasn’t very easy to launch this academic journey, but if there was one thing that I was passionate about, it was the fact that I clearly lived and understood a shared heritage and this was all it took for me to get our programs going and foster deeper understanding.

Our shared history is truly an essential element in our friendship as neighbors in the region. Just like Spain, our shared history with China should continue to help us build mutual understanding and deeper emotional bonds, considering we have Filipino-Chinese communities that have traced their roots all the way to China. It is the same for many Filipinos who in turn can also trace their Spanish roots to Spain. A shared history enables us to build a strong foundation for trust and helps overcome future challenges by learning from past mistakes.

The celebration of Chinese New Year in our country is a clear indication of how much we value our cultural heritage and how this in itself preserves traditions, memories and stories that are passed on to the generations to come. This is why more than anything, for me, and beyond politics, people-to-people exchanges matter most.

It reminds me of the time in history when, on March 18, 1521, in the nearby island of Homonhon, under Guiuan town, our ancestors from Suluan discovered the starving, undernourished, scurvy-stricken and dehydrated crew of Magellan. These strangers just appeared in the uninhabited island of Homonhon, very sick and dying. This time in our history marked the very first Philippine-Spanish contact and after 500 years, in 2021, we celebrated what we called Victory and Humanity when we Filipinos are reminded that even after 500 years, we must never forget that we are not only heroes to our own people but also to other peoples.

This is exactly what is meant by “we are all envoys” – something that Ambassador Jing has espoused, considering how generations of Chinese have prospered in the Philippines and that this should only continue to strengthen our relationship. To be an envoy simply means that all of us are ambassadors of goodwill because wherever we go and in whatever we do, we take pride in being a good friend to others by being a bridge of peace.

Happy Chinese New Year to one and all and may prosperity and good health carry us through the year.