PHL team bags 49 medals in Special Olympics in Greece

PHL team bags 49 medals in Special Olympics in Greece
07/08/2011 | 02:20 PM

Philippine athletes won 49 medals in the 2011 Special Olympics World Games held in Athens, Greece, from June 25 to July 4, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

Of the 49 medals, 21 were gold, 13 were silver, and 15 were bronze, the DFA said in a statement.

“Team Philippines won gold medals in athletics, powerlifting, swimming, bocce, and rhythmic gymnastics, while the silver and bronze medals were also won in these five sports events, in addition to bowling and badminton," the DFA said.

It added the 47-member Philippine delegation had participated in seven of 22 sports events at the Special Olympics. More than 7,000 athletes from nearly 180 countries competed in the games.

The DFA said the Philippine delegation included 38 intellectually challenged athletes and their coaches and trainers. Leading the Philippine team was Ma. Theresa Macapagal, president of Special Olympics Philippines.

According to the DFA, the Philippine Embassy in Athens gave full support to the athletes during the 10-day Special Olympics.

The DFA said present during the opening ceremonies were international celebrities such as Stevie Wonder, Vanessa Williams, and Zhang Ziyi, and sports icons Yao Ming, Nadia Comaneci, and Michelle Kwan.

“The Filipino community members cheered the Philippine athletes during the various competitions as well as during the opening ceremonies on June 25 at the historic Kallimarmaron Panthinaikon Olympic Stadium, the site of the first Olympic Games of the modern era," the DFA said.

The DFA also said the embassy hosted a “meryenda" of cookies and ice cream for the athletes at the embassy premises on June 21. At the event, swimming gold medalist Raymond Macasaet and bowling silver medalist Roxanne Ng rendered heartfelt song numbers to the delight of the staff.

On July 3, members of the Philippine team also enjoyed a hearty dinner of Filipino food at the embassy to celebrate the victory of the Philippine team during the sports event. — Source: JE, GMA News

PHL helps build tower of 30,000 books in Argentina

PHL helps build tower of 30,000 books in Argentina


The Torre de Babel de Libros located at Plaza San Martin. (Below) Two of the 200 plus books the Philippines had contributed fro the project (photo from DFA website)The Philippine Embassy in Argentina said the Philippines participated in the "Torre de Babel de Libros" in Buenos Aires, a 25-meter high "tower" composed of 30,000 books in different languages.

The Philippines was the only Southeast Asian nation out of the 54 countries which participated in producing the masterpiece.

An average of 1,800 people viewed the tower at the Plaza San Martin in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, from May 12 to June 28 this year.

The tower is a masterpiece of renowned Argentine artist Marta Minujin.

Her past controversial works includes the Parthenon replica that she constructed in 1983. It was made up of books banned by the military junta at that time.

She said that the idea behind her latest work is "to unify all races through books."

The "Torre de Babel de Libros" is the first large-scale activity by the city government of Buenos Aires for the city's designation as UNESCO's "World Book Capital" for 2011.

Philippine books

The Philippine participation in the project was made possible through the joint efforts of the Embassy, the Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of American Affairs, and the National Book Development Board of the Philippines.

About 250 books in 13 Philippine languages as well as in English and Spanish were donated for the tower.

After the tower was dismantled, the books were collected by the Buenos Aires city government to be part of the initial collection of Argentina's first and only multilingual library scheduled to open in the capital this year. - VVP, GMA News

Jose Rizal books on display at US Library of Congress


Jose Rizal books on display at US Library of Congress


The Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. said Rizal's works were on display at the Library of Congress, the research arm of Congress and the national library of the United States.

According to a news release of the Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, the display was organized by the library in commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Rizal.

The books on display included the:
Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas by Antonio de Morga, annotated by Jose Rizal;
Maria Makiling, a folktale by Jose Rizal;
One Hundred Letters of Jose Rizal to his parents, brother, sisters and relatives, and different versions of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, among others.

A 1902 version of Noli Me Tangere included a journalist's description of the crowd that gathered in Luneta during Rizal's execution.

The article was quoted from the December 30, 1901 edition of the Puerto Rican newspaper, "La Correspondencia," the fifth anniversary of Rizal's death.

Ambassador Jose Cuisia, Jr. visited the Library of Congress on June 29 to view the Jose Rizal display at the Asian Reading Room of the Library of Congress.

Asian Division Philippine Specialist Reme Grefalda of the Library of Congress guided the Ambassador as he looked through the Rizal collection of the library.

Cuisia was received by the Library of Congress Asian Division Chief Franklin Odo, Ph.D., who was the founding director of the Asian Pacific American Program at the Smithsonian Institution before joining the Library of Congress.

The DFA said a second Rizal display will take place in December. It will include the Spanish newspapers that featured his trial and the monographs of his execution and martyrdom. - VVP, GMA News