25 June 2018, Wassen - Ambassador Denis Yap Lepatan and Honorable Kristin T. Schnider, mayor of the City of Wassen, layed a wreath at the bust of Dr. Jose P. Rizal at the Open-air museum in Steinbruck Antonini in Wassen on 25 June 2018.
Also present in the wreath laying ceremony are Philippine Embassy personnel, officials of the City council of Wassen, the descendants of workers at the Rieswald quarry where the granite stones that were used to construct the obelisk of Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s monument in Rizal Park and members of the local media.
Ambassador Lepatan and Mayor Schnider lay a wreath at the bust of Dr. Jose P. Rizal.
Mayor Schnider in her speech, said that “It is the strength of the granite of this area which connects the countries, and which is also the foundation of the monument of Dr. Jose P. Rizal in Manila” and, added “we are connected as well in the spirit of the national hero which is very similar to the spirit of the Swiss national hero William Tell.”
Ambassador Lepatan thanked the officials of Wassen for the warm welcome and reception. In his speech, he stressed that “the persona that William Tell embodied immensely inspired Rizal by shaping and stirring his ideological ideas leading to the Philippine revolution in the 19th century.”
Amb. Lepatan delivers a speech at the Rizal memorial in Steinbruck Antonini.
Amb. Lepatan graces an interview with the local media covering the event.
Guests and officials from the Philippine Embassy and the City of Wassen pose for a group photo.
He also acknowledged the role of Switzerland in its Chairmanship of the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission for the Philippines’ quest for just and lasting peace in Mindanao.
In his final remarks, he expressed the Philippines’ intention to deepen its relations with Wassen and the entire Swiss Confederation. END
