The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver joins the entire Filipino community in British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories in celebrating the 118th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence.
We remember and honor the sacrifices of our forefathers who secured the birth of our nation.
We also take this opportunity to recognize our strong and vibrant relations with Canada in many areas of concern, be it peace and security, trade and investment, human resources, development assistance and cultural and educational exchanges. Thus, we continue a tradition which we have started: celebrating June as Philippines-Canada Friendship Month.
This year, we mark yet another milestone: the 60th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver, the very first Philippine foreign service establishment in the whole of Canada.
Sixty years of our Consulate’s existence in this city represents as many years of partnership with and service to the Filipino-Canadian community. We take this opportunity to recognize the “pioneers” at both our Consulate and in the community, as well as encourage them to continue to contribute towards further strengthening the bonds of friendship between Canada and the Philippines.
As we turn another page in our country’s history, we take pride in the achievements we have made in the past years as a nation. Much has been done in accelerating our economic growth and prosperity, in strengthening our democratic institutions and in raising our profile in the community of nations.
We look forward towards sustaining these gains and towards greater partnership with Canada. In this regard, we are grateful to the Government of British Columbia for opening its Trade and Investment Office in Manila last month, the very first such office in Southeast Asia.
This year’s Philippine Independence Day theme “Kalayaan 2016: Pagkakaisa, Pag-aambagan at Pagsulong” exhorts us to remain united, steadfast and engaged towards securing our country’s progress.
On that note, I wish everyone a joyous, memorable and meaningful month-long celebration of all these events.
Mabuhay!
Neil Frank R. Ferrer
Consul General
