Officers of the Philippine Business Council-League of Food and Beverage take their oath before Consul General in Dubai and the Northern Emirates Paul Raymund Cortes on Saturday evening. John Varughese/Gulf Today

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

Relative to the 123rd anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence, owners and senior management people of 12 Filipino restaurants in Dubai and the Northern Emirates formally took their oath as officers or members of the Philippine Business Council-Dubai and the Northern Emirates (PBCDNE) on Saturday evening, before Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes.

The oath-taking, held at the Philippine Consulate General in Al Qusais, Dubai, formally launched the League of Food and Beverage Entrepreneurs (LFBE), a sub-committee of the PBCDNE.

PBCDNE, affiliated with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has been into private-public partnership with the consular mission and Manila’s Department of Trade and Industry-Philippine Trade and Investment (Dubai), for the pursuit and in support of the growth of Filipino entrepreneurship in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah.

PBCDNE chairman Bobbie Carella said: “We collaborate whenever possible. (Our organisation) has grown by leaps and bounds and we will continue (to reach out to other entrepreneurs) for more tangible inputs.”

The creation of the LFBE was almost two years after the League of Filipino Freightforwarders was established, also a PBCDNE sub-committee, among the early projects with the consular mission of Commercial Attache Charmaine Mignon Yalong.

In her brief speech, Yalong emphasised the importance of building up the overseas Filipinos‘ entrepreneurial spirit. Entrepreneurship being a pillar of the Philippine government. In connection with the LFBE, she mentioned “#para sa bayan” (“#for the country”), devoid of competition, that consequently benefits the entire world economy, considering the interplay of the simple to complex food/logistics supply chain.

Cortes said the LFBE will help elevate the global status of the Philippine cuisine: “revered,celebrated, liked and loved” in this part of the world where almost 200 nationalities live and thrive.

On Saturday, LFBE president Gina Valbuena, Kubyertos gourmet restaurant owner, announced the July 1 to Aug.31, 2021 “PINASarap sa UAE!” Food Tour package whereby diners in the 12 restaurants and food specialIty outlets get the chance to win prizes.

“‘PINASarap sa UAE!’ is a portmanteau of ‘Pilipinas,’ the vernacular of the ‘Philippines’ and ‘sarap’ or ‘flavourful,’” Valbuena said.

The 11 other restaurants are Agemono, Draft Corner Cafe, Face Cafe, Joy Bubble Coffee Shop, Off the Hook, OunceDxb, Paluto Restaurant, Panadero Pastry Shop, Shokuji Sushi, The Desert Wok, and Zutto Suki.

Over 110 million Filipinos including an estimated 10 million overseas Filipinos on June 12, Saturday, celebrated their country’s sovereignty and 123rd freedom day from Spain, themed as “Diwa ng Kalayaan sa Pagkakaisa at Paghilom ng Bayan” (“Spirit of Freedom in Unity and National Healing”).

From the UAE, the five Philippine missions namely the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labour Office in Abu Dhabi, and the Philippine Consulate General, the Philippine Overseas Labour Office, and the Philippine Trade and Investment Centre in Dubai jointly commemorated.

Venue of the historic joint celebration was the villa compound of the Philippine Consulate General in Al Qusais where the Southeast Asian nation’s red-white-blue-yellow-white flag was hoisted at 8am as the officers and men of the Philippine team, majority in their elegant light and cool beige to off-white Barong Tagalogs paired with either black trousers or black skirts, sang the Philippine national anthem “Lupang Hinirang (Marcha Nacional or Chosen Land). The original flag, sewn by exiled Filipinas in Hong Kong, namely Dona Marcela Marino Agoncillo, her daughter Lorenza and Delfina Herbosa Natividad, niece of Philippine national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal, was raised from the verandah of the the mansion of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, first Philippine Republic president on June 12, 1898.

The traditional flag-raising ceremony was followed by the recitation of the “Panatang Makabayan” (Oath of Allegiance) led by Col. Cesar Fernandez, deployed as the Philippines’ first Defence and Armed Forces Attache to the UAE in 2021. The United Arab Emirates-Republic of the Philippines diplomatic relations were formally established on Aug.19, 1974. The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi was first opened on June 17, 1980.