Philippine Ambassador Garcia-Albano Meets Members of the Filipino Community and Business Community During The ‘Pasasalamat’ – Thanksgiving Celebration for the Philippine Festival 2022
Photo shows Amb. Mylene J. Garcia-Albano during her remarks and in group shots with the Officers of the Philippine Assistance Group and all the guests of the event “Pasasalamat”.
23 March 2023 – On 22 March 2023, Philippine Ambassador Mylene J. Garcia-Albano was the guest of honor during the “Pasasalamat” – Thanksgiving Celebration for the Philippine Festival 2022 in Shibuya City, Tokyo.
The event was organized by the Philippine Assistance Group (PAG) with its Philippine Festival Tokyo Committee which led the preparation and conduct of last year’s Festival. This was the first large-scale Festival of the Filipino community at Yoyogi Park under the “new normal” after more than 2 years hiatus during the pandemic.
PAG Chairperson, Mr. Jodie Alvaran, and Ms. Joyce Ogawa, Chairperson of the Philippine Festival Tokyo Committee both expressed their appreciation to all the stakeholders that made the Festival possible. This included the PAG officers, Festival committee heads, volunteers, media partners, sponsors, and booth vendors, among others.
The event also became an opportunity for the Ambassador to meet more members of the Filipino community and some representatives of the business community who have been supportive of the events of Filipinos in Japan. The Philippine Department of Tourism Office in Japan also introduced their new “Bisita, Be My Guest” Philippines travel campaign during the program.
In her remarks, Ambassador Garcia-Albano stated that “through the Philippine Festival, the Filipino community was able to share the best of what the Philippines has to offer in terms of culture, with our food, music, dances, and even clothing to both Filipino and Japanese guests alike. In its own way, these Festivals help us to introduce our country to our Japanese friends. Hopefully, they will be inspired to visit the Philippines sometime in the future as well and have a firsthand experience of our “fiestas” or festivals.”
The Festival was described as “the Filipino community’s grand family reunion, back in full force.” More than 100,000 people visited the Philippine Festival 2022 organized by the Philippine Festival Committee of the Philippine Assistance Group (PAG) held on 03 to 04 December at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward.
