The Romanian Embassy recently welcomed Filipino guests, the diplomatic corps, and the Romanian community to a joyful and well-attended reception hosted by the Fairmont/Raffle Hotel. In attendance were Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo and his wife Pamela Manalo, alongside distinguished representatives of the business world.
Romanian Ambassador Răduța Dana Matache, dressed in the traditional Romanian national dress called “ie“ or “cămașă cu altiță, welcomed the guests warmly. The national dress, common to Romania and the Republic of Moldova and made of handwoven white cotton fabric adorned with handmade embroidery, had just been accepted by UNESCO, at the end of November 2022, as part of the world’s “intangible heritage.”
Friends of Romania came from afar to celebrate Romanian-Filipino relations. The Honorary Consul of Romania in Cebu, Grand Benedicto, was in attendance; also honored during the ceremony was film director Mac Alejandre McCarthy, awarded “the Best Director Prize” at the Wallachia Film Festival in Romania in 2022, for his movie Silip sa Apoy.
A strong delegation from the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture in Los Baños was also present, given that research in agriculture is one of the priority areas where Romania and the Philippines plan to step up cooperation.
University of the Philippines president Danilo Concepcion graced the reception with his wife. In June this year, a grand celebration of 50 years of bilateral relations was hosted by UP.
An emotional moment came when the rising star of Philippine opera, young soprano Marielle Tuasson, sang both the Filipino and Romanian national anthems.
The guests sampled Romanian food, prepared for the occasion by the extraordinary Chef Bela Rieke, of the Raffles Hotel, who recreated Romanian dishes so that, as the Ambassador put it, they tested like ”her mother’s food.”
A raffle manned by the Deputy Head of Mission William Korbl and the GM of Turkish Airlines Huzeyfe Akhan offered guests the possibility to win bottles of premium Romanian wine from the Halewood vineyards, as well as the well -known anti-aging Gerovital cream and a free round-trip Manila-Bucharest ticket.
It was a beautiful event with the ambiance of a joyful family celebration.