Advisories & News
Press Release
2021 Quincentennial Commemorations of the Philippines
2021-03-17
PR-2021-09
16 March 2021, Toronto—On the occasion of the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations of the Philippines (QCP 2021), Sentro Rizal Toronto of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto organized two (2) virtual events which were live streamed through its official website and Facebook page on 16 March 2021. The Consulate General chose the historic date 16 March 2021 as it was the date when the Europeans first set foot in the Philippines and introduced Christianity to the Filipinos.
As restrictions on gatherings and permitted events in Toronto are still in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Consulate General commemorated this milestone event of Philippine history virtually.
QCP 2021 Congratulatory Messages and Greetings
The first part of the day’s festivities started at exactly 9:00 in the morning. A few minutes before the 2021 QCP Virtual Celebration, the artworks of the elementary and secondary students who participated in Sentro Rizal Toronto’s Padayon Art Competition were shown, a total of 182 artworks. Then the Virtual Celebration formally opened with the Philippine and Canadian national anthems, followed by four (4) Proclamations on the 2021 QCP issued by the Province of Manitoba, City of Vaughan, and the two Catholic District School Boards in the Greater Toronto Area, and a greeting from the Province of Ontario. The two (2) other Proclamations featured were on the celebration of the 500th year anniversary of the Arrival of Christianity in the Philippines from school boards where a large concentration of Filipino Canadians reside – the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB).
The highlight of the virtual program was the Congratulatory Messages and Greetings received by the Consulate General from Philippine and Canadian Government Officials, members of the Consular Corps in Toronto, and almost seventy (70) Filipino Canadian community organizations under its jurisdiction. The program ended with the pre-recorded musical numbers from two (2) Toronto-based artists, Ms. Renee Fajardo, a Filipino mezzo-soprano student at the University of Toronto Opera, and Mr. Ron Michael Adea, a Filipino-Canadian pianist.
The Honorable Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. sent his message which emphasized the values and traits which mark the Filipinos – “magnanimity, compassion, and humanity”. He also thanked the international community for welcoming the Filipino diaspora, as well as the different Philippine Embassies and Consulates General around the world that celebrated the Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines.
In his message to the Filipino Canadian community, Philippine Ambassador to Canada Rodolfo D. Robles emphasized that 500 years after Ferdinand Magellan reached Philippine shores, almost one million Canadians of Filipino descent now reside in Canada, bringing with them their Filipino heritage that is now a permanent and valuable part of Canada’s multicultural fabric.
In his speech, Philippine Consul General Orontes V. Castro greeted the Filipino Community and expressed his gratitude for all the Quincentennial messages and Prayers and Blessings received. He mentioned that our ancestors had a flourishing civilization and culture when the first Europeans set foot in our country and since then has evolved into a vibrant country. He also congratulated the student artists and parents who participated in Sentro Rizal Toronto’s Padayon Art Competition.
Chairman Arsenio J. Lizaso of the Philippine National Commission for the Arts (NCCA), a partner and supporter of the Consulate General and its Sentro Rizal Toronto thanked the Consulate General for participating in NCCA’s Padayon (Visayan word for “to move on or to carry on”) -Paglikha Program, through Sentro Rizal Toronto’s Art Competition, which exemplifies their commitment to inspire Overseas Filipinos to move forward during the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The other Canadian Government officials who sent in their messages were Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Elizabeth Dowdeswell, OC, OOnt; Ontario Premier Douglas Robert Ford; Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba Janice C. Filmon, C.M., OM; Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister; City of Toronto Mayor John Tory; Manitoba Member of Legislative Assembly Jon Reyes; City of Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua; Kitchener City Mayor Berry Vrbanovic; Markham City Mayor Frank Scarpitti; Winnipeg City Mayor Brian Bowman; Durham Mayor John Henry; Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter; Ajax Councillor Lisa Bower; TCDSB Chair Joseph Martino; DPCDSB Chair Sharon Hobin; DPCDSB Vice Chair Luz del Rosario; and TCDSB Trustee Garry Tanuan.
Messages were also received from members of the Consular Corps such as Brazil, the Republic of Poland, South Africa, Republic of Turkey, and the Republic of Union of Myanmar.
Interfaith Prayer
The second part of the celebration was the Interfaith Prayer, which is a result of the Consulate General’s consultations with different Filipino community organizations.
The written/video Prayers and Messages of Blessings received from religious leaders of different denominations were featured in the Program, from 1:00 pm to 1:45 pm. Messages from the Archbishop of Toronto, the President of the Toronto Board of Rabbis, the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarchal Representation in Toronto, the Jesus is Lord Americas 1, the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, the El Shaddai DWXI-PPFI Toronto Chapter, and the Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, the Pastor of which also chairs the Toronto Organizing Committee of the Quincentennial Jubilee of Christianity in the Philippines, were among the messages and prayers received. Aside from these, messages were also received from the Province of Manitoba – from the Archbishop of Saint Boniface of Winnipeg and the St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in Winnipeg.
It is noteworthy that the greetings and messages of blessings for the Philippines and the Filipino people talked about the valor and compassion of the Filipinos, which underscore the 2021 QCP theme, Victory and Humanity.
The two events were live streamed through the Philippine Consulate General’s Facebook page and official website. The link to the live streaming is as follows: www.philcongen-toronto.com. At the end of the day, there were already 1,500 views for the Virtual QCP Celebration while the Interfaith Prayer had 566 views. – END