GOVPH

Filipino martial art Pekiti Tersia Kali gains growing following in China

SHANGHAI – The Filipino martial art of Pekiti Tersia Kali (PTK) is alive and kicking in Shanghai, as local and foreign practitioners revive clinics and training sessions halted during the peak of the COVID pandemic.

Leading the revival is the discipline’s chief local exponent group, Pekiti Tersia Kali (PTK)-Shanghai, which has been propagating the system in Shanghai and even other areas in China since 2016.

PTK is a Filipino close-quarter style of martial arts with heavy emphasis on blade skills.

Consul General Ignacio officials from the Consulate General, accompanied by FMA advocate and local Filipino entrepreneur Mr. Joe Santiago, visited a training session on 10 January in Jing’an District.

They were enthusiastically received by Shanghai-based Italian martial artist, trainer, and part-time stunt actor and fight choreographer Mr. Diego Dati. Both sides agreed to consider cooperation in future activities, including demonstrations during major Filipino events.

Mr. Dati and other PTK stalwarts frequent the Philippines to train under various leading practitioners and masters (“Tuhon”) of the art.

“We at PCG are grateful to PTK-Shanghai for their work to propagate Filipino martial arts in this city and China at large. They contribute an important new dimension to raising cultural appreciation and awareness of our Filipino heritage”, said Consul General Ignacio. He vowed the PCG’s support in PTK-Shanghai’s effort to promote the discipline.   END

Mabini, intellect of Philippine revolution and first Foreign Minister, memorialized with bust at PCG

CG Ignacio with the Consuls General of (L-R) Singapore, Ireland, Thailand, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Indonesia and Switzerland, at the unveiling of Mabini’s bust.

SHANGHAI – In one of his final ceremonial acts, outgoing Philippine Consul General Josel F. Ignacio ceremonially unveiled a bust of Philippine national hero Apolinario Mabini at the Consulate General on 11 January.

Educator and lawyer Mabini (1864-1903) was a stalwart of the Philippine revolution against Spanish rule. Although partly physically incapacitated by polio in 1895, his intellect and patriotism made him adviser to the revolutionary movement, for which he gained recognition as the intellect and ideologue of the revolutionary movement.

Following the establishment of the First Philippine Republic, he was named to the post of first Prime Minister and Secretary of Foreign Affairs, for which he is highly esteemed within the Department of Foreign Affairs and its missions abroad. He died in 1903.

On hand for the unveiling were the officers and staff of the PCG, the Consuls General of several countries, leaders of Filipino organizations in Shanghai and Zhejiang, and representatives of various local Chinese organizations and enterprises. END

The bust of Apolinario Mabini after and before unveiling

CG Ignacio pays farewell call on Shanghai FAO

FAO extols contributions to economic and cultural bonds

SHANGHAI –  Outgoing Philippine Consul General in Shanghai Josel F. Ignacio paid a farewell call on the Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) on 05 November at the latter’s Headquarters on West Nanjing Road.

CG Ignacio, who has been named Philippine Ambassador to India, is concluding his assignment in Shanghai on 13 January 2024. He took up his post in Shanghai on 12 April 2021.

The Consul General was received by Deputy Director General Mr. Bei Zhaojian, Consular Affairs Director Ms. Yan Yanqiu, Deputy Director Mr. Chen Yongliang, and official Ms. Tan Lian. 

Consul General Ignacio was accompanied by Consul John Francis S. Herrera, Vice Consul Richard L. Recella, and Ms. Tang Mingxian.

DDG Bei conveyed sincere and ardent appreciation on behalf of the Shanghai Municipal Government for CG Ignacio’s active involvement in the city’s initiatives and events with the consular corps.

He lauded the Consul General’s assiduous efforts to buttress and boost economic, cultural and people-to-people bonds between the Philippines and China’s financial capital throughout his term.

In turn, Consul General Ignacio recapped the Consulate General’s major achievements during his term, including the expansion of the mission’s facilities and operations to support people-to-people exchanges, and PCG’s pioneering work on the revival of Tour Group Visas and the electronic visa for Chinese nationals. He thanked the Municipal Government for supporting the work of mission.

Special mention was made of the strong cooperation cultivated by PCG and FAO in 2022 in relation to PCG’s efforts to assist Filipinos, as Shanghai entered its challenging bout with COVID-19, culminating in a two-month lockdown.

CG Ignacio expressed gratitude as well for his having been featured by the Municipal Party paper, Jiěfàng Daily (解放日报) in October – the first Philippine Consul General to be so recognized -- on the FAO’s nomination.

The FAO thanked CG Ignacio for the PH Country Team’s full backing of the annual China International Import Expo (CIIE). CG Ignacio proudly reported the CIIE’s rise as the Philippines’ most fruitful overseas trade event, netting USD 1.1 billion in sales and orders in the most recent iteration.

Both sides agreed to support mutual investment by Filipino and Shanghainese firms, and to pursue more activities to enhance the 40-year-old sister city ties between Metro Manila and Shanghai, including reciprocal visits by officials.

In sending off the Consul General, DDG Bei conveyed the city’s best wishes, and expressed the hope that the CG Ignacio would be able to continue visiting Shanghai in the years to come.  END