WE might not be aware of it, but it seems pretty clear that the Philippines and Germany—although more than 10,000 kilometers apart—are closely linked by affinity, compared to, maybe, the US, despite the special relations being bandied about whenever the Philippines-US relations are brought to the fore.
This observation became clear during the 60th celebration of the diplomatic relations between Manila and Berlin on October 3 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila in Pasay City, when German Ambassador Thomas Ossowski reminisced about Filipino national hero Dr. Jose Rizal’s stay in Heidelberg.
But, first, Ossowski greeted everyone in Filipino: “Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat.”
He didn’t have to struggle so much to pronounce the words, earning him the first ovation of the night.
Rizal “wrote To the Flowers of Heidelberg while studying there, and, eventually, finished and published his explosive novel Noli Me Tangere,” Ossowski said. “Now, during the 60th anniversary of this event, we have reached that age where we have achieved something as a good base for the future of our relations, much further back when Rizal studied in Heidelberg, wrote To the Flowers of Heidelberg, and where he finished Noli Me Tangere.
He lived in an actual atmosphere of political debates, citizen’s rights and the rule of law.”
“While we are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations between Germany and the Philippines, our bilateral relations are much older,” the envoy added. “Ever since Rizal lived in Germany, where he published his famous book Noli Me Tangere, there has been a strong emotional bond between Germany and the Philippines.
By celebrating the 60th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, we are also celebrating a German-Philippinefriendship that goes back a long way.”
The German envoy read a letter President Aquino sent especially for the occasion: “Doctor Rizal, no doubt, imbibed the culture and witnessed the Germany of his age, the values that our country holds most dear up to this date.”
The ambassador said, “These values came when you took to the streets in 1986 in a People Power revolution as a show of [self-confidence as citizens]. And we believe you inspired the self-confident citizens in 1989 in East Berlin when they took down the Berlin Wall and ended the Cold War for all of us.”
He added that the Philippines and Germany have to tackle the challenges of climate change together, and said he believes both countries are very strong partners in this respect.
“[Super]typhoonYolanda has shown the disastrous consequences of climate change, and I would emphasize Germany is in the Philippines also because we support very much and cooperate with our European partners in disaster response and rehabilitation.”
Proof of how close the friendship between the Philippines and Germany is, former Federal Economic and Technology Minister Michael Glos flew in from his home country to join in the celebration.
“I have much to learn from your president, Fidel Ramos, who is my friend,” Glos said, recalling that he was only 10 years old when the Philippines established its first consular office in Germany in 1954.
Foreign Secretary Albert F. del Rosario, with his wife Gretchen, was guest of honor. Other guests included Ramos and former Speaker Jose de Venecia, along with members of the diplomatic community.
Philippine relationship with Germany extends way back to 1835, when German trading companies started operating in Manila, and, in 1849 and 1852, when the ports of Hamburg and Bremen established consulates in Manila.
The North German Confederation opened a consulate in Manila in 1867, and, 19 years later, a young student then, Jose Rizal arrived in Heidelberg to study.
Glos said Germany is the Philippines’s largest trading partner in Europe in 2013: “Our bilateral trade reached $4.7 billion at the same time our country have close political ties in past six decades.”
The former German minister said President Aquino’s visit to Germany last month was “very good and interesting,” and added that the two countries are key allies and strategic partners, aside from being reliable friends.
“Our close ties are much more than political. Currently, 60,000 Filipinos live in Germany, [and they] are well integrated in German society, and more than 30,000 have become German citizens,” said the former German minister.
On the other hand, he said that about 15,000 Germans are living in the Philippines.
“Those ties are expressed in the political foundations, which are very active in the Philippines,” he added. Glos said the Hanns Seidel Foundation in the Philippines, of which he is a board director, and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung have promoted human rights and the rule of law.
“The projects run by the foundations here have also created relevance for the economic development of the Philippines, and it’s the reason our economies are so strong.”
“This is one of the fundamentals of the German industry: The close cooperation between the Philippines and Germany in the broad sector. The foundation is only possible because of the high level of trust, commitment and open mind that exist between the two countries.”
Ossowski, on the other hand, drummed up the fact that the Philippines and Germany are close political partners: “Both our countries believe in the international system, in the rule of law and we believe in international society which is based on international law.”
The ambassador congratulated the country for endeavoring to construct a durable peace in Mindanao by way of the Bangsamoro basic law.
Apart from the florid speeches, however, the Germans put their best foot forward entertaining guests by decorating the Sofitel’s Grand Ballroom with “island lounges,” representing the partners of the event and highlighting the dense network of German institutions and German-Philippine companies operating in the Philippines.
Ossowski particularly acknowledged Gretchen del Rosario as a witness of the beginning of the diplomatic relations between Germany and the Philippines.
Madame del Rosario was in Germany in 1954 when her father, the late Policronio R. de Venecia, opened the Consulate General of the Philippines in Hamburg and became the first consul general of the Philippines to Germany after the establishment of diplomatic relations.
And, to appreciate how close Philippines-Germanrelations are, del Rosario reminded the audience that he married Gretchen de Venecia del Rosario, daughter of our first consul general to Hamburg.
“That Consul de Venecia, the country’s first consul general in Hamburg…much later I married his beautiful daughter, Gretchen, and I’d like to just think that perhaps, I’m in the foreign service now, Gretchen experienced full circle on diplomacy.”
Image credits: Jimbo Albano