My Reminiscences: The 121st PH Independence Day Celebration in The Hague

 
By Jacob Apostol
The Hague-The Netherlands
July 26, 2019
 




Every year the Filipino community in The Hague of which I am part celebrates the PH Independence Day with line-ups of activities and surprises. As expected, there is always a lot of fun for guests to look out to. It's no wonder that some Dutch are also looking forward to it every year, so to speak. Indeed, the celebration is considered as one of the biggest events in The Hague being organized by the Filipino community.



But, it's not all about fun why we organize it. Rather, it's all about the spirit of the celebration. I remember a year ago when a Dutch friend asked me why we should celebrate our Independence Day every year. "You were already independent long time ago, weren't you? He muttered with smile in his face. I suddenly told him," Are you kidding me? Of course, we were! "



For me, we celebrate our Independence Day every year for one purpose - to cherish the living memory of our great heroes. It is only fitting that we should remember for their sacrifices for our country. Beside, this is also a way to stimulate the patriotic spirit of our countrymen especially the young generation of Filipinos of today.  It is our moral duty to pass on this spirit to our young people as we prepare them to be the future leaders of our Republic.



After long months of preparation, we finally held the 121st year of PH Independence Day celebration with the theme "Kapayapaan ,  Kaunlaran ng Bayan " on July 6, 2019, in Zuiderpark, The Hague, despite of heavy rain in the late afternoon.



Admittedly, the celebration this year was a bit late due to bad weather forecast. We know that the Dutch weather is unpredictable sometimes! But, would that be enough reason to stop us from doing it? As the saying goes, 'better late than never'.



I felt honored, like the rest of the Filipino community in The Hague, to see once again the Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands, HE Jaime Victor Ledda, along with other Philippine Embassy officials, gracing the PH Independence Day event in The Hague. In his speech, Ambassador Ledda thanked the different Filipino organizations for their support to the various projects of the Philippine embassy. He urged them to continue their cooperation with the embassy in the service of the Filipino community in the Netherlands.  After his speech, he also joined us in the symbolic "Unity Lunch" prepared by the organizations.

For Filipinos, food is the most exciting part of enjoyment on every occasion. That's why we made sure that there was a lot of food during the PID Unity Lunch for the visitors. Personally there was nothing more delighting than to see the enthusiasm of our kababayans in savoring traditional Filipino food that we had prepared for them such as dinuguan,  pinakbet, lechon, kare-kare, adobo, fried fish, kaldereta, and among others. Name it!



I have been involved with the PH Independence Day Organizing Committee for 6 years now.  I would say with pride that 2019 celebration was a bit more organized than the previous years. I think it was because of closer cooperation exhibited by leaders of different organizations. Indeed, it was an amazing experience as an organizer to work with these people who showed unwavering dedication and hard work during our long preparation for the event. Everyone tried to contribute their ideas and resources just to make sure that the celebration would be more festive and momentous for the community despite of some challenges along the way.

As usual, the celebration offers a variety of performances in open-air. Dance groups from JIL, MABIKAs and FILMIS managed to perform traditional dances with colorful costumes and props.  While, the dancers of MCVO and Migrante, entertained the audience with their modern hip hop dances. Cheers to all!

There was also a one-man performance that piqued the attention of the audience. He was no other than the PID coordinator Matthijs Kerklaan who sang a Tagalog song "Kung Sakaling Ikaw ay Lalayo". Being a native Dutch who knows how to sing a Tagalog song is something admirable to the eyes of the Filipino audience.

This year we also organized the Logo Design and Essay contests. These contests were in line with our goal of promoting the PID theme "Kapayapaan, Kaunlaran ng Bayan". The main idea for holding this was to encourage our kababayans to be involved with our celebration by showcasing their innate talents and ideas. Carlo Macias was awarded a first prize in the Logo Design contest after gathering a total score of 89. For the Essay Contest, Madeleine Devinagracia and Dwayne Arceo Molina snared the first price with the English and Tagalog entries, respectively.

Another exciting activity during the celebration was the 2nd Gayak Pinoy fashion show contest initiated by the Ateneo-LSE under the leadership of Florisa Amodiel. This contest aimed to showcase the traditional Filipino costume and fabric. Two categories (adult category and children category) were competing for the best Filipiniana Costume.

Out of 18 contestants for adult category, Michelle Mercado emerged as the winner by wearing a gown embellished with sequins inspired by the Philippine flag. Ms Mercado is an Ateneo-Lse batch 73 alumna. For children category, Ysabelle Abarquez van der Burg won the top spot for wearing a unique gown made of recycled jute sacks. Congratulations to all the winners!



The success of the 121^st PH Independence Day celebration would not be possible without the support of our sponsors, namely: AIM Global, Esquisine Catering, Café Nordrick, AHA Shop, Europe Pinoy Magazine, Del Rosario Balikbayan Box, Baryo Pilipinas, Cora Espanto, Diona Perez and George Galura.

Our many thanks also go to our guest organizations, the Centered for Church (CCC) and the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA), for joining the celebration.

Last but not least, we thank our guest performer Genny Gabinette, our two dedicated masters of ceremonies, Myra Colis and Lito Tomas, and all the volunteers for sharing their valuable time and efforts in helping us to organize this big event for our kababayans. Your contributions were priceless!

Above all, I thank God for His guidance!!