Philippine Ambassador to Japan, Her Excellency Mylene J. Garcia-Albano encouraged the latest thirty-three (33) Filipino graduates from various Japanese Universities to give back toward the country’s development during the hybrid format of this year’s “Paghayo sa Tagsibol” on 19 September 2023 organized by the Association of Filipino Students in Japan (AFSJ) in coordination with the Philippine Embassy.

Ambassador Garcia-Albano in her message expressed her appreciation to the graduates for being “testaments of Filipino values, talents and skills that are truly admired by other nations”. She also encouraged the graduates to reach out and inspire more students to take advantage of the many educational opportunities made available through the various initiatives and agreements between the Philippines and Japanese Governments. She ended her message with an appeal for the graduates to “give back to the country through passionate, genuine, honest, and active involvement in the development of “Bagong Pilipinas”.

Invited to speak as an Alumni Speaker is Dr. Hazel Bantolino Gonzales, Associate Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, who shared her academic and professional experiences and learning during her 25-year stay in Japan. Meanwhile, the batch graduate representative Jedz Jevz Venzon Lee who completed a Master of Business Administration in Design and Leadership for Societal Innovation at Shizenkan University while working as a Senior Manager in one of the Pharmaceutical companies in Japan, spoke of his challenges and ways of overcoming them and be recognized as the first Filipino to pass the national exam for Pharmacist in Japan.

AFSJ’s “Paghayo’ is a bi-annual event aimed at honoring Filipino graduates in Japan. It is dubbed “Paghayo sa Tagsibol” when held in March, and “Paghayo sa Taglagas” when held in September.

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