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| Congen Israel presents the Independence Day program highlights |
The Philippine Consulate will take full control of this year’s Philippine Independence Day celebration in Hong Kong to be held on June 14 (Sunday) on Chater Road in Central.
This was announced by Consul General Romulo Israel,
Jr. during a meeting with Filipino community leaders on Sunday, during which Consulate officers also explained at length the various servicesthey provide to the
public.
In the past several years, the Consulate had worked
with only one organization, namely the Global Alliance Hong Kong, in drawing up
the program for the annual celebration, which was often also spread out over
three Sundays of June.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
This year, only one Chater event is planned with the
Consulate, along with the Migrant Workers Office and the Overseas Workers
Welfare Administration, taking charge of the entire program.
The day-long program will kick off with an
interfaith prayer, followed by a Catholic mass. The traditional Kapangyawan
Parade will then be held, which will be open to participation by any group with
at least 10 members each.
Those who wish to participate will have to register
with the Consulate’s cultural and community affairs section and carry a uniform
banner with their group’s name, and wear Filipiniana or Filipino-inspired
attire.
The cultural performances will also be opened to everyone,
with the Consulate choosing from among volunteers the choreographers who will
plan the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao dances.
“Once choreographers are confirmed, registration
will open for volunteer dancers,” said Congen Israel during a slide presentation
of the program for the event.
The official call for participation will also issued
by the cultural section.
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| Participation in the parade will be opened to all groups with at least 10 members each |
The second part of the program will be devoted to
celebrating Migrant Workers Day, which will feature a Serbisyo Caravan, a
Philippine Festivals Competition and a dance contest called OWWAW Sayaw, for
which cash prizes ranging from HK$5,000 to HK$10,000 will be awarded to the top
three winners.
Several migrant workers groups who had long
protested Global Alliance’s dominance of the annual celebrations told The SUN
that this second part which will be held during what is generally known as the
prime time for the event, could be controlled by GA again through its close
alliance with OWWA.
A Filcom leader claimed that even before an official
announcement is made regarding the mechanics for participation in the Philippine
Festivals competition, GA has already decided that participation will be
opened to 10 groups made up of 50 dancers who will perform for 10 minutes each.
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| Cash prizes will be given to winners in the MWO-OWWA segment during prime time |
The leaders also fear that there would be selective
participation in the two dance contests, especially as they come with generous cash
prizes for the winners.
As in the Consulate part of the event, the leaders
are calling for open participation and transparency in the MWO-OWWA segment to
end what has long been decried as favoritism in the celebration of the community’s
biggest event of the year.
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