PR-31-2021
“It is the shade of our ancestors’ civilisation which the author will call before you. If the work serves to awaken in you a consciousness of our past, and to blot from your memory or to rectify what has been falsified or is calumny, then I shall not have laboured in vain.”
Consul General Maria Lourdes Salcedo was quoting from the annotation of Dr. Jose Rizal of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas to reveal the truth about the condition of the Philippines during the more than three decades of Spanish regime. With this year’s theme Rizal para sa Agham, Katotohanan at Buhay (Rizal for Science, Truth and Life) she also spoke of the many achievements of Rizal as a scientist referring to the 2006 study of Dr. Ben Lumen, Professor at the University of California. “He studied medicine, became an eye doctor and operated on his mother’s cataract. He built a hospital in Dapitan where he treated patients from faraway places like China,” she added.
State Minister Juliana Addison, member of the electoral district of Wendouree, spoke of the contributions of the vibrant Filipino Community to the region and to the State of Victoria. The three-hour program attended by around 100 guests was punctuated by messages from FilCom leaders after a potluck lunch. The active participation of the youth was mostly noticeable.
Earlier on 27 December 2021, the Pinoy Ako, Pinoy Tayo group spearheaded by broadcasters Arlan Fajardo and Walter Villagonzalo collaborated with the Filipino Communities Council of Victoria led by Marlon De Leon for an early celebration of this year’s Rizal Day in Brooklyn, 15 kms from Melbourne CBD. The undersigned and the great grandniece of Rizal, Josephine Quintero, were among the featured speakers in this event attended by around 60 representatives from different FilCom organizations. The video messages of Ambassador Ma. Hellen De La Vega and three other descendants of Rizal –Emmanuel Herbosa, Joel Mendoza and Thomas Consunji — were shown during the program. END
