The Department of Trade and Industry is determined to ship the Philippine’s “Bangkota” Pavilion from the UAE to Clark, Pampanga when Expo 2020 Dubai ends in April 2021, instead of razing it to the ground.
During a media roundtable discussion on June 11 at DTI headquarters in Makati, Secretary Ramon Lopez said that the plan is to reconstruct the architecture in Clark so that more Filipinos can witness the Filipinos’ ingenuity.
Lopez said that it would be the biggest participation of the Philippines in any international exposition, owing to the UAE government’s high regard for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Gulf state.
“The UAE government likes our very own people who are working diligently in their country. So, it will serve as a recognition of our OFWs there,” Lopez said.
DTI Assistant Secretary Rosvi Gaetos, meanwhile, recalled how the organizing committee of Expo 2020 Dubai encouraged them to get a bigger space in the Expo site.
“The head of the organizing committee loves the Filipinos in the UAE so much. The idea for a bigger space for the country actually came from her. When we were reviewing the spaces, the Philippines only got 900-1000 sq. m., she was very upset. She said the Filipinos deserve a bigger space, a bigger representation. I even had to call secretary Ramon first because the 3,000-sq. m. is meant thrice the original size,” she explained.
The country’s overarching theme for its pavilion will be “Bangkóta”, ancient Tagalog term for “coral reef”.
