Consul General Joselito A. Jimeno and Mme Araceli Jimeno with the officers and staff of the Philippine Consulate General
(13 June 2018, Honolulu, Hawaii) - Philippine Consul General Joselito A. Jimeno, together with Madame Araceli C. Jimeno, hosted his first Philippine Independence Day Vin d’ Honneur for some 150 guests to celebrate the 120th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence at the Washington Place, the Official Residence of the Governor of Hawaii, and a National Historic Landmark, on 12 June 2018.
The reception was graced by the presence of esteemed guests comprising of US and Hawaii government officials and policymakers, high-ranking officers of the US Indo Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) and its other command units, led by Admiral Philip Davidson, US INDOPACOM Commander, the members of the Consular Corps of Hawaii, and the Consulate's partners from the academe, think tanks, business, and media sectors, and leaders of the Filipino American community.
Consul General Jimeno, in his Independence Day message, mentioned that Filipinos are reminded every June 12th “of the brave men and women of the Philippines who valiantly fought for our liberty engaged in a revolution that has marked our race’s strength and determination.” He also looked back on the past year, which was full of challenges, as well as many achievements that were made through the determined efforts of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to improve the lives of the Filipinos and bring about real change.
Consul General Jimeno and Mr. Luis Salaveria, Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) offered a toast to Philippines-US enduring and multi-faceted relations and to the prosperity of its peoples. They also led the ceremonial cutting of the Independence Day cake, where they were joined by Madame Jimeno and Admiral Davidson.
Governor David Ige also attended the reception and extended his congratulations to the Philippine Consulate General for the celebration of Philippine Independence Day.
The guests were entertained by a musical prelude by the Royal Hawaiian Band and musical performance by Filipino American singing star and Broadway performer, Ms. Kristian Lei, accompanied by businessman and musician, Mr. Pierre Grill on piano.
Catering company Memoirs prepared a sumptuous Filipino spread of well-loved Filipino dishes such as kare-kare, pancit, chicken and pork adobo, sweet and sour butterfish and ensalada and lumpia.
Filipino products also took center stage at the Vin d' Honneur: The guests enjoyed San Miguel Beer and Red Horse Beer, and Memoirs prepared two special Independence Day cocktails, the "Mabuhay" and "Kalayaan" cocktails using Don Papa 7-year Aged Rum. A miniature "banig" bag containing popular Filipino snacks by Oishi, dried mangoes by Profood International, pili nuts from Rains Handicrafts and mamons from Red Ribbon Bakeshop were given away as tokens of appreciation for the guests.
To mark the occasion and to promote the Philippines as a top tourist destination, Philippine Airlines also raffled off one roundtrip premium economy ticket to the Philippines. (END)
(L-R): Consul General Joselito A. Jimeno gives his Independence Day message; Director Salaveria of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), provides his message for the occasion
(Left photo) Consul General Jimeno and Director Salaveria offer a toast to Philippines-US relations; (Right photo) Admiral Davidson cuts a slice of the Independence Day cake. Looking on are Director Salaveria, Consul General Jimeno and Mme. Jimeno
Guests were entertained by performances by the Royal Hawaiian Band (left photo) and by Filipino American singing sensation and Broadway performer Kristian Lei with Mr. Pierre Grill (not in photo) on piano
Consul General Jimeno, Governor David Ige and Mme Jimeno
