Tena Kotou, Tena Kotou, Tena Tatou Kotoa, Magandang Gabi sa inyong lahat !

Excellencies, members of the ASEAN Diplomatic Corps, MFAT Director Stephen Harris, Kiwis and
Kiwnoys, Kababayan, friends, ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor and privilege to welcome you
to our Commemoration of the 50 th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between
the Philippines and New Zealand, and to thank all of you for joining us this evening. To being our year
long-celebrations, we are pleased to unveil tonight a Mural Painted by renown Philippine Artist, Derrick
Macutay, which depicts our five-decades old relationship, to present a gallery of photographs
highlighting the day-to-day life of Filipinos and Kiwinoys in New Zealand, and to unveil the logo for the
50th Anniversary done by Kiwinoy Graphic Designer John Gutierrez. Other exciting events are in store
for the course of the year of celebrations, which will continue through July 2017. Our next event is the
Wellington Philippine Food Festival which will be held on July 23 at the Filipino Cultural Center in
Petone, other highlights include recognition of our pioneers in the Kiwinoy Community, a film series and
cultural events, promotion of the Languages of the Philippines in August, special publications and the
grand national gathering of Filipinos and Kiwinoys during October Labor Day Weekend, the Pistang
Pilipino Sports and Cultural Extravaganza to be held this year right here in Wellington.
Today also marks my 60 th day here in beautiful Aotearoa. I have grown up in the Foreign Service and
have been posted in North America, Europe and the Middle East, all over the world, and I can say with
no exaggeration that it is here in New Zealand where Filipinos are the most welcome and appreciated
among all countries in the community of nations. We are approaching 50,000 in number in this country,
making up one percent of the population and rising. I appeal to all our Kababayan to not only
continue to bring together the Filipino Community, but to play a more engaged role in Kiwi Society as a
whole. I urge you all to register and vote in the upcoming local and national elections, to join political
parties, to support Kiwinoy and other worthy candidates I am not telling you whom to vote for but to
be involved, as we did for the recent Philippine overseas elections. May I take this opportunity to also
recognize the members of the Filipino Community who have served as election monitors and
observers for our elections held last May.
May I also encourage Kiwinoys to also consider public and uniformed service in the New Zealand and
local government, the Police Force and Defense Forces, there will be a career day for the Police at the
Police College in Porirua this July 30, also to consider membership in the Trades Union movement to
safeguard your rights as workers.
Lastly, may I also take this opportunity to thank the Government of New Zealand , particulary Foreign
Minister Murray McCully, on calling all parties to respect the Arbitral Tribunal ruling on maritime rights in
the South China Sea, issued yesterday.
Manahau, and Mabuhay and Pilipinas at Aotearoa !