One of the most awaited seasons of the year is Christmas. As usual in the Philippines, the celebration and preparation begin from September onwards to December. Families plan for their reunions and in preparing gifts, houses are lit up with Christmas lights, and families & friends visit churches (Simbang gabi) during early mornings in December until Christmas eve. These are a few of the noticeable Filipino cultures and traditions during the Christmas season.

For Christmas 2024, FETP’s Christmas party was themed: “Maria Clara at Ibarra - FETPaskong Pinoy”. The party was held in Acacia hotel, Alabang. It was held on Dec. 14 (Sat.) from 11AM-3PM. This was organized by the company’s Employees’ Event Committee (EEC). To have the atmospheric Filipino Christmas celebration, employees were encouraged to wear traditional Philippine attires. Examples were the Filipiniana or Baro’t Saya (for women) and Barong (for men). The employees wore their attire with elegance and prestige. Filipino Christmas decorations were also arranged in the venue and the program flow was done in Tagalog by the hosts. For souvenirs, participants received a Filipino style Tote bag with a lovely tumbler inside it.

During the event, the opening remarks were given from the VP of Administration & General Manager, then followed by the President’s Speech & Kanpai for all the attendees. To make the event even more special, FETP was privileged to get to know more about their new Japanese president by having a short question-and-answer program for him and getting to know also the two Japanese guests. The president responded positively and enthusiastically on the selected questions from the employees. And for a surprise for everyone, the President together with the two Japanese guests from FETEC, sang a Japanese song for their special number. The title of the song was “Mirai e”, translated as “To the Future”. The song explores the journey of life and the importance of staying true to oneself while facing uncertainty and fear of the future. Having Japanese guests perform during this event, was a rare opportunity for FETP. It was wonderful to see their participation in this event and their willingness to share their talents.

During lunch time, a video presentation was played showing the different Christmas parties conducted through the years for FETP employees. It was amazing to see the various themes of the parties. Although the food was Chinese cuisine, everyone enjoyed the delicious food and desert. We thank the generosity of the sponsors for bringing in the “Lechon”.

For FETP Christmas parties, games, raffle draws and exchanging gifts for the participants are always part of the celebration. EEC prepared 2 games for all the attendees wherein they were assigned into 4 groups. The group names were related to the Maria Clara at Ibarra series: “Elias at Salome”, “Pilosopo Tasyo at Sisa”, “Crispin at Basilio” and “Padre Damas at Salvi”. The first game, “Himig ng Pasko” was about arranging the different lines of Tagalog Christmas songs to guess the song titles. After arranging the lines, the group that correctly sings the song assigned to them within 5 seconds wins. The next game, “Pilipit Dila” was somewhat challenging if one is not used to it. Each group representative should smoothly pronounce the Tagalog tongue twisters that were picked. An example would be, “Pasko Paksiw, Pasko Paksiw, Pasko Paksiw!” The group with the best diction and pronunciation of the tongue twister wins. The winning group from the 2 games, “Elias at Salome”, received Php6,000. The game sections were full of laughter because of how the games were played. For the raffle draws, there were major and minor prizes given to the lucky winners who got their names hand-picked by the selected managers. The minor raffle draw had 5 lucky winners who received Php5,000 cash prize each. While 3 lucky winners from the major raffle draw received exciting and must-have gadgets. The first prize was a JBL Portable Party speaker with 2 microphones, second prize was a Lenovo tablet, and the third prize was a wireless JBL earphones with noise cancelation.

Every Christmas party, employee recognitions and promotions are announced in the program. We congratulate the selected “Employee of the Year” (EOY) from BSDD and employees who have been promoted to the next level for their exceptional contributions to the company this 2024.

For the best-dressed for Male and Female at the party, the winners were voted by the employees. The criteria for the winners are having cultural relevance, appropriateness of outfit, and confidence. Both winners looked stunning with their traditional Filipino attires, and each received a cash prize. It was evident that they gave their best efforts for their participation.

As the party neared its end, the closing remarks were given by the VP of Operations & General manager. Overall, everyone enjoyed the party with the Japanese guests and shared the Filipino spirit in celebrating Christmas together.

The EEC would like to give their deepest appreciation for everyone who actively participated in the event and for sharing their time and effort in making FETP's Christmas party possible for 2024. Again, Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year in 2025.