GOVPH

Embassy Commemorates the 128th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Jose Rizal with the Filipino Community

Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. Pablito A. Mendoza gives his remarks during the Rizal Day commemoration at the Philippine Embassy Chancery, Brussels, 30 December 2024.

The Philippine Embassy in Brussels and the Filipino community commemorated the 128th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Jose Rizal on 30 December 2024.

In a ceremony held at the Embassy chancery, the Embassy and the Knights of Rizal Belgium, together with the Las Damas de Rizal and the Kababaihang Rizalista, offered flowers to the bust of the National Hero. This was followed by a program that included a reading of the "Mi último adiós".

In the evening, the commemoration moved to Gent where Rizal’s El Filibusterismo was published in 1891. Filipino students offered flowers to the bust of Dr. Rizal in a ceremony organized by the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Flanders. In his remarks, Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. Pablito A. Mendoza encouraged the students to believe in themselves just as Rizal believed in the youth.

A year-end celebration for the Filipino students followed.

Read more: Embassy Commemorates the 128th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Jose Rizal with the Filipino...

MSME Hub opens at the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Brussels

With the theme Paskong Pinoy: A Philippine Christmas Celebration, the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Hub was inaugurated by Ambassador Jaime Victor B. Ledda together with Mr. Benedikt Madl, Policy Officer for DG TRADE of the European Commission; Commercial Counselor Magnolia Misolas-Ashley; and Trade Assistant Maria Tereza A. Borja, on 17 December 2024. The Hub aims to provide a physical exhibit of Philippine products to support business-to-business (B2B) matching.

The MSME Hubs, which are being established in Philippine Trade and Investment Centers in key cities around the globe, which features rotating and carefully curated exhibitions of the finest quality and export-ready products of Philippine MSMEs for overseas buyers, is part of the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) commitment to empower MSMEs and establish the Philippines as a trusted global supplier and as a smart, sustainable, and commercially meaningful partner in key sectors for export.

Read more: MSME Hub opens at the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Brussels

Embassy Hosts Webinar on Adoption in the Philippines with the National Authority for Child Care (NACC)

The Philippine Embassy in Brussels, Belgium hosted a Webinar on Adoption in the Philippines with the National Authority for Child Care on 10 December 2024.

The webinar follows the successful visit in March 2024 of Assistant Secretary Rowena M. Macalintal, Deputy Executive Director for Services, and Ms. Irene Fagayan, Officer-in-Charge of the Intercountry Adoption Division, when they met with their Belgian counterparts. During the webinar, the NACC officials discussed the process of inter-country adoption and answered the queries of attendees.

Undersecretary Janella Ejercito Estrada, NACC Executive Director, mentioned NACC’s excellent partnership with the central authorities and foreign adoption agencies in Belgium, and discussed NACC's plans for Filipino children adopted abroad, including those already in Belgium.