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ManaMo

  • MANAMO PUSHED AS TOP THEME IN FILCOM ABUJA’S FAMILY DAY 2022

    ABUJA, 19 September 2022 – The Philippine Embassy in Abuja celebrated the Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month (MANA Mo) with Filipinos living in Abuja by pushing it as the top theme for first-ever family day conducted by the newly reconstituted Filipino Community Association in Abuja (FCAA) at the Abuja Horse and Country Club (AHCC).


    MANA Mo 2022 was thrust as the first item in the daylong outdoor picnic on 18 September 2022 with a brief talk by Roderico C. Atienza, the Embassy’s Chargé d'Affaires and Consul General, on the event’s significance. In fact, the MANA Mo 2022 banner held almost equal pride of place with a similar FCAA banner hung as a backdrop in the clubhouse. MANA Mo’s message was driven home in a fun way by a puzzle game that pitted 24 members of the Filipino community in a race using enlarged and printed WhatsApp emoji stickers designed from the 2019 iteration of the event. The participants were asked to match the photo of a sea creatures with its most appropriate cartoon bubble dialogue.

    Once they had found their partner, the pair was asked to shout “MANA Mo!” The first three pairs were handed door prizes. Almost 100 Filipinos attended the Family Day event, which was held at the golf and horse stables run by German-owned construction firm Julius Berger Nigeria (JBN) by the shore of the man-made Jabi Lake. “This game was lots of fun,” said Dena Lu, a long-time Filipino community advocate and coordinator for eHealth Africa. “Not many Filipinos are aware of the observance of this event, and the fast-paced game made us remember the importance of the Philippines as an archipelagic nation. I learned a lot today.”

     

    Photo 1: MANA Mo emoji stickers from WhatsApp used as pieces of a puzzle that have to be matched by 12 pairs of competitors between the characters and its most appropriate matching dialogue.

    The Philippines declared on 14 September 2017 through Presidential Proclamation 316 the month of September as the Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month (MANA Mo) to enhance awareness and consciousness of the Filipinos on the maritime and archipelagic features and concerns of the Philippines. This year's theme, as approved by the National Coast Watch Center, is “Our Seas, Our Livelihood, Our Life Source: A Whole-of-Nation Approach Towards Raising Maritime and Ocean Awareness".

    Photos 2 & 3: 24 members of the Filipino Community Association Abuja (FCAA) lined up in two rows waiting to match their WhatsApp emoji characters with the most appropriate dialogue bubble wait for Consul General Roderico C. Atienza and Consular Officer Ivy S. Platon call for the start of the game.

    In addition to this overall theme, the DFA has also adopted the sub-theme “Philippines as an Archipelagic State: UNCLOS @ 40” to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the signing of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). -END


     

  • PH Embassy Holds Seafood Tasting Event in Celebration of ManaMo 2022

    ABUJA, 28 September 2022 - To commemorate the 2022 Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month (ManaMo), the Philippine Embassy held a Seafood Tasting Event on 27 September 2022. The event tapped Filipino Expat Vlogger Liza Maaño-Abulencia, new arrival to Abuja from Nairobi, to prepare an array of traditional Filipino seafood-based dishes for a dozen guests comprising resident Filipinos, diplomats, as well Nigerians from media, PR, international cultural and financial organizations. 

     Photo 1: Screengrab from the video of the Seafood Tasting Event (click on the photo to view the video). The video was put together through the help of Imagedotadrica Media Director Ms. Olive Chiamaka Sadiq for the  narration, and Ms. Lois Abba Sambo, editor and journalist for Aso Radio and Television for the camera work.

    In Abuja, despite being located inland, one can find (though mostly frozen) fish, shellfish, cuttlefish, and crayfish, that can be used as ingredients for a typical Filipino dish using seafood. The event started with a cooking demonstration of four dishes: homemade Fishballs, Seafood Lumpiang Shanghai (deep fried spring rolls), Pancit Guisado (Seafood in Rice Vermicelli), and Ginataang Sugpo (Prawns in Coconut Milk).

    The degustation started in earnest when the Embassy personnel, led by Chargé d’affaires, a.i. and Consul General Roderico Atienza, distributed scorecards to the guests for them to rate each dish on a scale of 1-10 for appearance, uniqueness, and flavor, just for fun. The dishes were accompanied by wine, beer and fruit juice.

    Photo 2: The Philippine Embassy held a MANA Mo-themed Seafood Cooking Demonstration and Tasting at the residence of Filipino expat vlogger Liza Maaño- Abulencia in Abuja’s commercial district of Wuse II on 27 September 2022.

    The guests included Ruben Alba Aguilera of the European Union Delegation, Ubah Thomas Ubah of the World Bank in Nigeria, Grendel Alvarado-Christoff, wife of the Canadian High Commissioner in Abuja, Marisa Concepcion of ChicKing Nigeria Ltd, Simsi Kaempf of Institut-Francais Nigeria, Kwincel Lim-Anaedum, long-time resident and mother to Filipino-Nigerian children, Dena Lu of eHealth Africa, and Chijioke Obioma of Rightangle PR.

     

    Photo 3: The Philippine Embassy in Nigeria posted the MANA Mo 2022 streamer outside of the Abulencia duplex inside the Wuse II compound where the Seafood Cooking Demonstration and Tasting was held.

     

    Photo 4: Filipino expart blogger Liza Maaño- Abulencia demonstrates how to cook Seafood Pancit Guisado to Ms. Olive Chiamaka Sadiq, CEO and Media Director for Nigerian start-up Imagedotafrica, who the Embassy engaged in the creation of content for its newly launched even as Lois Abba Sambo of Aso Radio and Television takes a video.

    Surprisingly, the dish that received many plaudits was a dish of ordinary fried fish intended to represent galunggong, the fish of the Filipino Everyman. As a substitute to the mackerel scad or speedo common in Philippine palengke (markets), Ms. Abulencia deep fried Indian mackarel rolled in flour to prevent oil splash back and create a crispy crust while keeping the inner part moist soft. It was served with steamed rice that seemed to hit the palates of all the guests just right. The convivial evening ended with homemade coconut macaroons and more wine. -END