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Remarks of Ambassador Leslie J. Baja
At the Unveiling of the Marker of Dr Jose Rizal
At the Hotel Schweizerhof Bern, 14 December 2011
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Mr Schöpfer, Mr Thomann, dear friends of the Philippines, colleagues, mga kababayan,
I am very pleased to have led this unveiling of the marker of our
national hero, Dr Jose Rizal here at the Hotel Schweizerhof Bern this
afternoon. Let me at the outset thank Mr Schöpfer and Mr Thomann
for this opportunity to put this plaque in the hotel. Mr Schöpfer
is of course a friend of the Philippines, having spent hopefully some
wonderful years in our country. We are also grateful to the
National Historical Commission of the Philippines led by its Chair, Dr
Ma Serena Diokno, for having the brass plaque made for this occasion.
This unveiling couldn’t have come at a better time. As you all
know, 2011 is the 150th birth anniversary of Rizal. Every
December 30, we commemorate his martyrdom in 1896. Next year,
specifically on 18 March, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the
establishment of the first Swiss consulate in Asia in Manila.
The Philippines and Switzerland therefore have a lot in common.
We know Switzerland to be one of the oldest democracies in the
world. The Philippines prides itself as the first democracy in
Asia. We share democratic values which makes the Philippines
Switzerland’s natural partner in Asia.
In June 1887, Rizal visited Switzerland – Schaffhaussen, Basel, Berne,
Lausanne and Geneva. He was only 26 years old at that time, but
he was already visiting Europe at a time that the geographical distance
between the Philippines and Europe is vast. But he was in search
of democratic ideals which he could bring back to the
Philippines.
In Switzerland, he was fascinated by the tale of William Tell, whose
fight against the Habsburgs was legendary. So fascinated that he
translated Schiller’s novel of William Tell into Tagalog, our national
language. This was for the benefit of the other revolutionaries
back home who could not understand German at that time.
Dr Jose Rizal could thus be the first Filipino in Switzerland.
Today, we have 10,000 Filipinos who have made Switzerland their
home. We have some of them here this afternoon, including some
second generation Filipinos who I would like to be interested in him
and remain true to his ideals.
I hope that after today, Filipinos visiting Berne would make it a point
to visit this hotel to relish a part of Philippine-Swiss history.
For our part, the Embassy would surely show it to our guests here in
Berne.
As a memento of this unveiling, I would like to present these books of
Dr Jose Rizal, entitled Noli Me Tangere, or literally translated Touch
Me Not, to Mr Schöpfer and Mr Thomann. This is Rizal’s first
novel which sparked the Philippine revolution leading to the
declaration of our independence in 1898.
Again, my sincere appreciation for this undertaking with the Hotel
Schweizerhof Bern and may this be the start of a collaborative
relationship between the Embassy and the Hotel.
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