The traditional salu-salo for members of the Filipino community was held on 13 June at the garden of the Embassy. Some 225 Filipinos participated in the program which started off with a Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Ricky Manalo. This was followed by the reading of the Independence Day messages of President Arroyo and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert by Ambassador Gaa and Consul Jaime Victor B. Ledda, respectively.

Ably emceed by Omar Lacap and Bonna Banaag, the festive program included cultural presentations by Embassy ladies and children and members of the Filipino community, and performances by Filipino bands in Beijing.

A special part of the program was the delivery of speeches in Filipino by two of the Chinese students studying Philippine Language and Culture at the Beijing University. The students, Ms. Rebecca Huang Shurui and Mr. Antonio Shi Hongshang, were the top two winners of a Filipino speech contest held on 8 June at the Beijing University.

A sumptuous potluck buffet of delicious Filipino dishes kept everybody going for the whole-day activity.

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