Pinoy community joins Brunei national silver jubilee day parade

MANILA, Philippines — Some 100 members of the Filipino community wore Filipiniana attire as they joined the morning parade at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas last Feb. 23, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. A DFA report said Hataman Paraman, leader of Muslim-Filipino Overseas Workers Association in Brunei, led the more than 100 members of the Filipino community in the march past before Sultan Haji Hassanah Bolkiah. "The Filipino contingent brought a smile of appreciation to His Majesty as they marched before him and attracted the attention of the media covering the event, with their buri hats decorated in colors of the Philippine flag donned over their Filipiniana attire," the DFA said on its website (www.dfa.gov.ph). It said the Filipino contingent was one of over 100 groups that joined the parade. Other foreign countries that took part in the event included Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Chinese communities. "The Philippines’ participation in the parade was a way of expressing gratitude for the hospitality extended by the Government and People of Brunei to Filipinos throughout the years. It also symbolized the active involvement of Filipinos in Brunei’s national development programs," the DFA said. It added this is the seventh time that the Filipino community members have been "willingly and excitedly" joining the National Day of Brunei Darussalam since 2003. After the parade, Ambassador Virginia Benavidez hosted a fellowship lunch at the Philippine Embassy Chancery to thank the members of the Filipino community. “The members of the Filipino community continue to do our beloved country and people proud. Philippine relations with the Bruneian people for the past 25 years and the next 25 years continue to be cemented among our leaders, government officials, private sector representatives and at all levels of society," Benavidez said. - GMANews.TV