What it means to be one nation when so many of its people live abroad was the question Consul General Ambrosio Brian F. Enciso III put to Filipinos in the Emirates as the community marked the 128th anniversary of Philippine independence.
For the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who left their provinces for work in the UAE, the Consul General suggested that the homeland is something they carry rather than something they left behind — held in memory, in the voices of parents, in the meals once shared at home, and in the language spoken wherever they settle. Living abroad, he said, often gives Filipinos a deeper appreciation of where they come from.
That presence runs through nearly every corner of life in the Emirates. Enciso described a community visible in homes, hospitals, schools, hotels, offices, construction sites and businesses, where Filipinos care for patients, teach, manage, build and lead while holding on to values of faith, resilience and bayanihan. In doing so, he said, they enrich the country that took them in without losing the identity they brought with them.
The anniversary itself traces back to June 12, 1898, when independence from Spain was proclaimed, and this year’s observance carries the theme “Freedom. Future. History.” Enciso framed the occasion as a moment not only to look back on freedoms won through sacrifice but to consider what each generation of Filipinos owes to the next.
The Consul General said the Dubai mission remains committed to serving its kababayan and to strengthening ties between the Philippines and the UAE, working from the belief that every Filipino abroad deserves responsive service, real connection and the opportunity to live with dignity. He thanked the UAE for an openness that has given the community room to grow, describing the relationship between the two countries as one of mutual respect and shared prosperity.
