Philippine Independence Message from the Ambassador

On this 112^th Anniversary of the Declaration of Philippine Independence, we celebrate with the theme “Kalayaan: Tagumpay ng Bayan” (Freedom: Victory of the Nation). Just looking back to the recent events in the Philippines, we, Filipinos have so much to thank our forefathers for the patriotism and sacrifices they have made for us to attain the freedom we now enjoy as a sovereign nation.

The freedom that we enjoy today has once again been renewed when Filipinos elected their new leaders as they cast their votes in the recently-held national elections. Being the country's first automated elections, it passed peacefully and smoothly with most of the presidential candidates humbly conceding to our new President H. E. Benigno Simeon Aquino III as he topped the polls. The people are now enthusiastic and inspired to move forward with high hopes for their new leadership to effectively carry out its new vision for our country's further growth and development.

Secondly, the Philippine economy posted a remarkable recovery with the economy growing an astonishing 7.3% in the first quarter of 2010. This was brought about by a combination of increased remittances, exports and income in the business sector that generated 2 million jobs from 2009 to the first quarter of 2010. The rapidly growing Business Processing and Outsourcing    Industry generated US$7.3 billion in revenues for 2009. This sunshine industry that started from its humble beginnings in the year 2000 with only US$200 million in revenues has been growing by leaps and bounds, generating employment for half a million Filipinos and paving the way to more opportunities for greater expansion in the near future.

These remarkable developments are positive indicators that the Philippines is well on its way up despite the recession that still plagues many countries around the world. We have proven once more that like our heroes, our faith, resilience, and unity remain to be our innate strengths that help us emerge as victors in the face of many difficult challenges.

As we celebrate Philippine Independence Day in this part of the world, let us remember and thank our heroes and forefathers who fought to attain and preserve the freedom that we now enjoy. May the numerous blessings we have received, the moral values we have learned and the victories we have achieved all through these years from this gift of freedom inspire us this time to achieve a higher goal for our people. - to sustain and skyrocket our economic growth that will free our nation from poverty and ensure a brighter future for our children and future generations.

Mabuhay tayong lahat!

(Sgd)
Bienvenido V. Tejano
Ambassador

2 June 2010