The Philippine Consulate General in Sydney led by Consul General Ezzedin Tago will hold in Sentro Rizal Bigkas Serye as part of the celebration of National Language Month (Buwan ng Wika).
The series of reading of Filipino stories will be held at 6pm on each Friday during August. The reading will be undertaken by the children of the Consular staff. It will be streamed live ia the Consulate's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PHLinSydney/ ) and instagram @#PHLinSydney.
The first reader in the series is Naomi, the daughter of Mr Stephen Diano and Consul Melanie Diano. Ten year old Naomi excels as a Grade 5 student of Crown Street Public School and a 6th Cup Taekwon-Do achiever. She is the sister of her Kuya Kenzo, aged 13 years who is also an academic and sports achiever.
Background Information
The month-long celebration of the national language occurs during August since 1997, known in Filipino as Buwan ng Wika. Previously, this lasted only a week and was known as Linggo ng Wika. The celebration coincides with the month of birth of President Manuel L. Quezon, regarded as the "Ama ng Wikang Pambansa" (Father of the national language).
The celebration of national language dates back to 1946 when Proclamation No. 35 of March 26 provided for a week-long celebration of the national language. This celebration would last from March 27 until April 2 each year, the last day coinciding with birthday of the Filipino writer Francisco Baltazar who was well known for writing the Tagalog epic Florante at Laura.
Subsequent proclamations changed the dates, with President Ramon Magsaysay moving to coinciding with the birthday of President Manuel L. Quezon in 1955. The reason for the move being given that the original celebration was a period "outside of the school year, thereby precluding the participation of schools in its celebration".
In 1988, President Corazon Aquino signed Proclamation No. 19, reaffirming the celebration every August 13 to 19. In 1997, President Fidel V. Ramos extended the celebration from a week to a month by Proclamation 1041 of July 15.