Manila toasts Denmark on Constitution Day
The Constitution Day started with an enormous flag proudly hung outside the atrium building of Enderun Colleges in McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City on June 5. The flag, which is the oldest national flag in the world, is the symbol of the long history of the Danish nation.
Guests were welcomed with generous servings of cheese canapes from Arla and Dansk hotdogs from Leo Sorensen. It was truly a festive evening celebrated with friends, dignitaries and heads of missions.
One of the highlights of the evening was in the form of words from Ambassador Jan Top Christensen’s speech.
“Modern democracy means adhering to universally accepted principles such as good governance, rule of law, transparency, due process of law, freedom of expression, full respect for human rights, and gender equality,” Ambassador Christensen said.
Rule of law protects the weak citizen at the national level, and protects the weak state at the international level. Denmark appears again and again at the top of the list in international comparisons. We are the least corrupt country. We are one of the best countries when it comes to ease of doing business. Denmark is also rated as the country with the best balance between work and family life,” he noted.
According to the Ambassador, almost four years ago since they reopened the embassy, they have been very helping Danish companies engaging with both the private and public sectors in the Philippines. Ambassador Christensen also shared that they have been issuing more visas for the traveling Filipinos.
“We also issue more and more visas to Filipinos who would like to travel to Denmark.
Many Filipinos working for Danish companies visit Denmark for shorter or longer stays to get acquainted with Denmark. We also see an increasing number of Filipinos visiting Denmark as tourists.”
Finally aside from that, Ambassador Christensen reiterated that the Danish Embassy is engaging with the Philippines at all levels.
“Denmark is through financial contribution to UN-agencies and the EU assisting in many areas. And Danish NGOSs are engaging with civil society in the Philippines within a number of sectors, fighting use of torture, climate change, modernizing the labour market, encouraging investigative and professional journalism, and improving fishing methods.
“People to people contacts, cultural activities and exchange is an excellent way of engaging between two nations. We are planning our fourth Danish film festival to take place in September. Our ambition is to be more active outside Metro Manila. Last year we also screened Danish films in Iloilo and Davao,” Ambassador Christensen updated.
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