Press Release
July 10, 2010

UNIÓN LATINA EXTENDS INVITATION TO ANGARA

The Secretary General of Unión Latina Jose Luis Dicenta has extended an invitation to Senator Edgardo J. Angara to become the Philippine's official representative to the organization.

Unión Latina is an organization composed of 37 member-countries of the neolatina languages. The Philippines entered the organization in 1985 when Spanish was still an official language. Today, with the reintegration of Spanish language teaching in the high school curriculum, Union Latina hopes to see renewed interest in the language and culture of Spain and Latin America.

Angara is currently spearheading the celebration of the Dia del Galeón, which highlights important aspects of the Galleon expeditions and brings together Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

"History links us not just to Spain but also to Mexico and Latin-American countries. After successfully rekindling our relations with Spain through the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day Act which I authored, and the many cooperation initiatives that followed, it is high time that we renew our ties with Mexico and the other Latin American nations," he said

UNESCO recently passed a resolution to institutionalize the Dia del Galeón every 8th of October, which marks the date when the galleons found the first return route or "tornaviaje" from the Philippines to America.

"With the Galleon trade, the world became a global village and Manila became the most important port in Asia. It gave us a place in world history like no other economic feature of the country," said Angara.

Key initiatives in the areas of history, culture, education, language, sports and labor and migration will be undertaken for continued dynamism, cooperation and genuine action, forging deeper relations among the countries involved.

News Latest News Feed