Philippine Embassy hosts “Meet My Country Day” for Women’s International Club

The Philippine Embassy in Athens hosted and presented last April 2, 2008 an event entitled “Meet My Country Day-Philippines” for the Women’s International Club (WIC) of Athens.

Ambassador Rigoberto D. Tiglao and Madame Getsy S. Tiglao led the embassy officials and staff in welcoming the guests composed of select members of the WIC, a prestigious international group of ladies based in Athens.

In his welcome address, Ambassador Tiglao gave an overview of the work of the Philippine Embassy in Athens for the benefit of the Filipinos who are working all over Greece.

He noted that Filipinos were well-known in Greece for being honest, friendly, and hard-working people, and thus there is great demand for them among Greek employers.

Later, Madame Tiglao, who was a former journalist in Manila, gave a 50-minute Powerpoint presentation to introduce the WIC members to the history, culture, people, and places of interest in the Philippines.

Her presentation was warmly received by the audience who were pleasantly surprised to find that the Philippines has a unique history and culture that is both Oriental and Western. They also learned that the country already had thriving settlements and dynamic trading with China and India even before the first Europeans arrived in the islands.

Madame Tiglao also showed pictures of the modern Philippines that few Greeks have seen, including the high-rises in Makati and Ortigas business districts, the third largest mall in the world called Mall of Asia along the Manila Bay, and other developments in Metro Manila.

“Metro Manila is actually a megapolis. It is one of the largest cities in the world, with its 16 million day time population exceeding the entire population of Greece,” Madame Tiglao said.

The WIC members also enjoyed learning about the United Nations World Heritage Sites in the Philippines.

These are sites declared by the U.N. as having outstanding natural beauty or showcasing the genius of man. The Philippine contributions to the World Heritage Sites are: the Rice Terraces of the Cordilleras, Tubbattaha Reef and Marine Park, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River Park, the Historic Town of Vigan, and the Baroque Churches of the Philippines.

Other beautiful places in the Philippines were also shown during the Powerpoint presentation. Among the places which earned raves from the audience were Boracay Island, Coron in Palawan, and Taal Lake and Volcano.

Boracay in particular was interesting for the WIC members upon hearing that there are Greeks based in the island-paradise. Among them are Captain Nikos Gitsis, a pilot and co-founder of Seair, an airline company which flies daily to Boracay; businessman Yiorgo Psinakis (brother of television personality Ilias Psinakis) who co-owns the Zuzuni Taverna in Boracay together with his cousin Geni Psinakis of the famous Lopez clan in the Philippines.

After the presentation about the Philippines, the WIC members were treated to a buffet luncheon featuring traditional Filipino food such as lechon, adobo, pancit guisado, kaldereta, afritada, bistek, longganisa, spring rolls, as well as native desserts such as buko pandan, kutsinta, buchi, and leche flan.

WIC President Bridget Coscoros praised the Philippine Embassy for its “wonderful, warm presentation.”

She said it was made even more special by the fact that Madame Tiglao, a WIC member since 2006, undertook to personally make the presentation and share her feelings with the WIC members present.

Ms. Coscoros also cited the Philippines’ “wonderful cuisine” as prepared by the embassy staff.

“Our members were clearly overwhelmed with the variety and delicacy of so many specialties” Ms. Coscoros said, as she thanked Ambassador and Madame Tiglao, and the Embassy Staff, for their kind hospitality, warmth, and charm.

“MEET MY COUNTRY – PHILIPPINES” By Getsy S. Tiglao

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