1st Czech beer night in Phl held
Identified as one of the most fun events – the Czech Beer Night of the Czech embassy in Manila was held last Nov. 16 at Whitespace Manila as the first purely Czech beer festival in the Philippines. At the same time, the Czech Independent State Day and the 30th anniversary of the
Velvet Revolution were commemorated.
Over 500 guests who joined the festivity tasted the overflowing original golden lager, Pilsner Urquell, state owned brewery beer, Czechvar, and Velkopopovicky Kozel. Aside from the two beer companies, Whisky Trebitsch, Rudolf Jelínek, and Becherovka also took part in the event to showcase their internationally recognized drinks.
“Tonight, as we celebrate the important history commemorated in this event, it is fitting that we also share to all of you, dear friends and partners, a century old tradition of the Czech Republic of which we are very proud of – beer making. Though, we will not be making beers tonight, we would like to give you the taste of highquality beers and liquors from the Czech Republic,” according to Czech Ambassador Jana Sedivá during her speech last Saturday.
The Czech Republic has been considered as the home of the original golden lager, Pilsner Urquell, and the original Czechvar.
Not only Czech alcoholic drinks were featured during the celebration but as well as a Czech agricultural tractor from the famous Zetor Tractors was exhibited within the premises of the venue. In addition, the Czech traditional music trio group called Jindra Kelísek Band (also known as Tram Tram Band) were invited to play during the event who further showcased the colorful tradition of the Czech Republic. The most awaited part of the program was the raffle draw wherein seven lucky guests won exciting prizes including Czech crystal crafts, glass display of the famous Sto. Niño de Praga, and beer packages.
Together with the alcoholic drinks companies who were present during the beer night, four other generous sponsors namely, Home Credit Philippines, VFS Global, AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE, and Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, paved the way for the Czech embassy in Manila in organizing the said event.
Another highlight of the celebration was the surprise visit of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. who gave an impromptu commentary before having a ceremonial toast with Ambassador Sedivá. During his short speech, he mentioned that Václav Havel, Czech playwright and one of the important figures who led the Velvet Revolution in 1989, was his competitor as he was the speech writer for then president Cory Aquino when the Philippines had its People Power Revolution in 1986.
Other important guests from the Philippine government who attended the celebration were Transportation Undersecretary Ruben Reinoso Jr. and Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary Angelo Taningco.
In July 31, 2017, the Czech Republic and the Philippines signed the Economic Cooperation Agreement which further strengthened the economic ties between the two countries.