Philippine Consul General Eva G. Betita attended the ANZAC Day ceremonies and laid a wreath at the Cenotaph of Sydney, the monument dedicated to Australia’s war dead.

Following the wreath laying, thousands of ANZAC veterans representing respective units of the Australian navy, army, and air force paraded past the Cenotaph. A group of Filipino military officers taking advanced training in Australia and Filipino war veterans who had migrated in Australia took part in the parade and represented the Filipino soldiers who fought beside Australian forces in World War 2 and recent conflicts.

Consul General Betita also attended the solemn services at the ANZAC Memorial, where New South Wales Governor Marie Bashir led the commemoration and prayers for the fallen ANZAC servicemen and servicewomen.

ANZAC Day is the anniversary of the landing of joint Australian and New Zealand Army Corps forces at Gallipoli in 1915 and is now Australia’s national day of remembrance for Australian soldiers, sailors, and airmen killed in conflicts from the First World War to the present day.

In the Second World War, Australian warships supported the US landing at Leyte in October 1944 and again at Lingayen Gulf in January 1945. The royal Australian Navy commissioned in 1945 a destroyer named HMAS Bataan, which remained in service until 1954.

Consul General Betita said, “In joining Australia in the solemn commemoration of ANZAC Day, we also honor the Filipinos who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom in war and conflicts. Today, Filipino soldiers and police officers continue to contribute to the cause of world freedom and peace, as members of peace-keeping missions in conflict-affect countries, working with Australian soldiers In some of these fronts.”

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