Consul Charleson Hermosura leads PCG Xiamen personnel during the wreath-laying activity commemorating the 128^th anniversary of the Martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal.

Consul Charleson Hermosura, guest KCR & former LabAtt Rustico de la Fuente, and PCG Xiamen personnel and their dependents at the Jose Rizal Square in Jinjiang.

XIAMEN, 30 December 2024 -- In commemoration of the 128^th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal, PCG Xiamen personnel and their dependents trooped to the Jose Rizal Square in Jinjiang City, Quanzhou, Fujian Province and participated in a wreath laying ceremony before the 18.61-meter statue of the Philippines’ National Hero. 

Consul Charleson C. Hermosura led the wreath laying. The PCG Xiamen contingent sang “Lupang Hinirang” and, led by eleven-year-old Kassidy Jillian Manuel to represent the youth of the Philippines, recited the “Panunumpa sa Watawat.”

Knight Commander of Rizal and former Labor Attaché Rustico dela Fuente provided an inspirational message and read his own, recently composed poem entitled “Pagmamahal sa Bayan sa Bagong Pilipinas.” The ceremony concluded with the reading of excerpts of Dr. Rizal’s last written poem, “Mi Ultimo Adios,” in the Filipino, English, and Spanish languages.

PCG Xiamen personnel and their dependents before the huge marker at the entrance of the Jose Rizal Square in Jinjiang.

The Jose Rizal Square was built in recognition of Dr. Rizal’s Chinese roots, being a descendant of Domingo Lamco (Ke Yi-Nan in Mandarin), his great-great-grandfather who moved from Jinjiang to the Philippines in the late 17^th century. The size of Dr. Rizal’s monument, which was undergoing maintenance works during the ceremony, corresponds to his date of birth: 1861.

Construction of the Park began in 2003 although its foundation was laid in 1999 by then President Joseph Estrada. The monument is the tallest structure of Dr. Rizal outside the Philippines.

The Jinjiang Municipal Bureau of Garden and Forestry Greening is the agency responsible for its upkeep.  Maintenance works of the monument will conclude at the end of December 2024.  END

Knight Commander of Rizal (KCR) and former Labor Attaché Rustico dela Fuente extolls the virtues of Dr. Rizal and reads his poem.

PCG Xiamen’s Visa Officer Ma. Regina Dela Fuente and 11-year-old Kassidy Jillian Manuel led the “Lupang Hinirang” and “Panunumpa sa Watawat”

Dr. Jose Rizal’s monument in Jinjiang undergoing minor renovation, periodically undertaken to improve its upkeep.