Iloilo celebration mirrors PHL-Australia friendship

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The City of Love over the weekend welcomed guests from Australia as it played host to the 77^th anniversary of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu led the Friendship Day Heritage Run at the Freedom Grandstand and a Friendship Tree Planting at Plaza Libertad on Saturday, May 20.

In a previous press release, the Australian Embassy said it chose Iloilo due to its historic people-to-people ties with Western Visayas.

This was Yu’s first celebration of the ties between the two countries after being appointed by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on July 6, 2022. She began her official duties after presenting her credentials to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on October 11.

A Manilamen exhibit and reception dinner was held at the National Museum Western Visayas on Saturday evening, where Yu addressed local officials and members of the great Ilonggo community.

“Manilamen” refers to the 1800s migration of Filipinos to Northern Australia to work in the pearl diving and shelling industry, and who have married into local Australian families.

The guests of honor during the exhibit opening and the reception were Peter Sabatino, a great-grandson of Iloilo-born Nicholas Sabatino who was one of the “Manilamen”, and Filipino-Australian author Deborah Wall.

Wall’s book Re-imagining Australia: Voices of Indigenous Australians of Filipino Descent inspired the exhibit.

Yu also mentioned notable Filipinos with connections to Australia including Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, Ilonggo ballet dancer Novy Bereber, and Ignatius Jones who was awarded the Member of Order of Australia for his contribution to the country writer, director, performer, and author.

“They along with our alumni here tonight represent the stories of the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who have contributed to the close friendship we now enjoy. I am delighted that this celebration in Iloilo has brought us all together. And I’ve had the chance to meet some of you during the course of early activities, which were a lot of fun,” the ambassador said.

The ambassador also led the Philippines-Australia Friendship Day Festival at SM City Iloilo on Sunday, May 21, which included a sports clinic with Ilonggo kids and a session on enticing Filipinos to study and work in Australia.

Products from Australian supermarket chain Coles, which were exclusively being distributed by SM Markets, were also being sold on the sidelines of the event.

It was here where Yu reaffirmed Philippines-Australia relations in trade, defense and security, and other important areas.

“I just want to highlight how important the Philippines is to the Australian people and the Australian Government. We have what we call our ‘fantastic deep and long-standing’ relationship with cooperation on many fronts,” she said.

“We work together on defense and security to make sure we help the Philippines stay safe and stay protected and stay strong. We work with you on trade and economic front so we can actually make both our economies grow bigger. We work with you on strong development [program] which is there to help the Philippines develop into the middle-high income country that you all aspire to become,” she highlighted.

SM City Iloilo’s Mall Manager, Engr. Gilbert Domingo, thanked the Australian Embassy for allowing their mall to play host to furthering the ties that bond between our country and theirs.

“On behalf of SM, I would like to congratulate and thank Ambassador Yu and the Australian Embassy for sharing this wonderful celebration with us. I am certain that, through this festival, our mallgoers will enjoy learning more about Australian culture, and gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of the many facets of the Philippines-Australia relationship,” said Domingo.

May 22 was declared as Philippine-Australia Friendship Day by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1282 issued by then-President Benigno Aquino III in 2016.

This was to likewise commemorate the same date when the Australian Consulate-General opened in Manila in 1946, prior to full Philippine independence from the United States of America in July of the same year.