President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. led the launching of "Kaibigan-Přátelé: Czech-Philippine Cultural and Diplomatic Dialogue", a book that highlights the rich "cultural and diplomatic exchanges" between the Philippines and the Czech Republic.
The launching of the book was held during the visit of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala at Malacañang on Monday, April 17.
In a press release, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the book contains historical events as early as the 17th century "from the arrival of Jesuit missionary and taxonomist Georg Josef Kamel, from whom the camellia plant was named after, to the warm friendship between Jose Rizal and Ferdinand Blumentritt who was born in Prague, to the recollections of Czech diplomats and journalists who lived in Manila."
PCO said Marcos has expressed hope that the book will not only serve as an "informative tool" for the public but a symbol of the two countries' friendship.
"The book, President Marcos said, is [a] proof that the Filipino and Czech people consider each other as přátelé or friends," it said.
The PCO stated the book was made through the collaboration of various Filipino and Czech contributors and editors, under the initiative of the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Philippines Jana Šedivá.
