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Thousands celebrate Philippine independence in Daan

A group of Filipino workers yesterday perform a dance at an event organized by Taipei City’s Bureau of Labor Affairs to celebrate Philippine Independence Day. PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

More than 7,000 workers from the Philippines gathered yesterday in Taipei’s Daan Forest Park for a cultural presentation to celebrate the 110th anniversary of their country’s independence.

Philippine Independence Day, celebrated on June 12, commemorates the nation’s independence in 1898 after more than three centuries of Spanish colonization.

The gala event, organized by the Taipei City Government’s Department of Labor (DOL), the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) and the Rerum Novarum Center, featured a parade of Philippine traditional costumes, singing, folk dance competitions and an exhibition of Philippine food and culture at some 30 booths.

Edcel Benosa, 28, one of the members of “Samahang Makata International” — a foreign workers’ association of poetry lovers founded in 1999 by a Philippine migrant worker in Taiwan — said that her association had set up a booth decorated with flowers and poems written by its members to celebrate Independence Day.

Benosa, dressed in a traditional white costume decorated with rainbow ribbons, also participated in the dance competition.

However, the occasion was clouded by the alleged reluctance of some employers to allow their Filipino workers to attend.

“Our association has about 100 members in Taiwan, but unfortunately, many of them cannot come because their employers did not permit them to have a day off, “ said Melvin Laureano, a member of the association.

Ministry of the Interior figures show that there are about 94,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan, including 8,000 in Taipei, most of whom are domestic caretakers.
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