20 January – At the invitation of Father Rodel Liguid of the Archdiocese of Cologne, personnel of the Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt joined the annual celebration of the feast of the Santo Niño in Sank Agustin, North Rhine-Westphalia. Consul Rogelio Villanueva Jr. led the Consulate team composed of Lolita Balansag, Violeta Bautista, Susanie Gonzales, and Rene Mangune, POLO Assistant.
In his remarks during the program, Consul Villanueva highlighted the Filipino people’s strong devotion to the Santo Niño as expressed in various forms such as the renowned Sinulog in Cebu, Ati-Atihan in Aklan and Dinagyang in Iloilo. He added that Filipino communities around the world also hold their respective celebrations of the Feast of the Santo Niño.
Members of Filipino communities from various cities in North Rhine-Westphalia follow the image of the Santo Niño during the procession around the vicinity of the Steyler Missionare during the celebration of the feast of the Santo Niño fiesta in Sank Agustin last 19 January. Upper right photo shows Consulate personnel joining the procession.
The Filipino tradition of paying homage to the Child Jesus traces its roots in Cebu when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan presented an image of the Santo Niño to Rajah Humabon. Every year during the month January, the feast of the Santo Niño is celebrated by Filipino Catholic communities across Germany. Father Liguid asked the participants of this year’s celebration to pray for the victims of the Taal Volcano eruption.
Consulate personnel assist applicants for the Overseas Voting registration while Mr. Rene Mangune responds to queries on POLO services.
The Consulate team took advantage of the visit to conduct registration for the Overseas Voting as well as provide information on POLO-OWWA services. There were twenty-two registrants for the Overseas Voting.
There are an estimated 4,200 Filipinos living in North Rhine-Westphalia. – END
Consul Rogelio Villanueva Jr. addresses the audience during the cultural program.