Ambassador Lecaros (left) presenting his credentials to President Zeman (right) at Prague Castle on 28 January 2014; at the foreground are Czech MFA officials

AMBASSADOR LECAROS PRESENTS CREDENTIALS
TO CZECH PRESIDENT MILOŠ ZEMAN

22 February 2014 – H.E. Victoriano M. Lecaros, PHL Ambassador to the Czech Republic, presented his credentials to the President of the Czech Republic, H.E. Miloš Zeman, on 28 January 2014 at the Prague Castle.

Ambassador Lecaros was accompanied by his wife, Ms. Melissa C. Lecaros, Prague PE First Secretary and Consul, Mr. Juan E. Dayang, Jr., the PHL Honorary Consul General in Brno, Mr. Břetislav Skácel, Prague PE’s Finance Officer and Attaché, Mr. Mario D. Simbulan, and Prague PE’s Communications Officer and Attaché, Mr. Arcangelo S. Sta. Ana.

The ceremony itself went flawlessly.  In fact, the ceremony was beautifully punctuated by the stirring rendition of the PHL national anthem by the Czech Honor Guard Marching Band.

Two things stood out in the brief chat with President Zeman following the ceremony:

When Ambassador Lecaros mentioned “economic diplomacy” as being at the top of his marching orders from Manila, President Zeman enthusiastically agreed with him and, at the same time, urged the new ambassador not to pay too much attention to Czech domestic politics.

Among the areas he touched on was the supply of rolling stock for MRT 3, invoking the fact that they were the suppliers of the original equipment, after all. (Parenthetically, Filipinos in the Czech Republic are all praises for the mass transport system in Prague and even in secondary cities such as Brno.  Many of the coaches are of the same make and model as the PHL MRT3 coaches; and, they all fit seamlessly into the same well-organized system which includes the subway and the bus lines.)

In addition, the Czech President voiced out his wish that President Aquino pay a visit to the Czech Republic, saying that, perhaps, PBSA could drop by Prague on his next trip to Europe.

On the other hand, Ambassador Lecaros expressed the PHL’s appreciation for the quick response of both the Czech government and the Czech people to the natural calamities that struck the Philippines last year, specifically, the October earthquake in Bohol and Super Typhoon Haiyan /Yolanda last November. END