French Ambassador visits Tawi-Tawi

TAWI-TAWI, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 9, 2010) - The prestigious French Legion of Honor with French Ambassador to the Philippines, Thierry Borja de Mozota, visited the southernmost Filipino province of Tawi-Tawi on Friday to turn over the initially completed Sheikh Karim al Makhdum Mosque.

The repair of the centuries-old mosque, the country's oldest, was a project funded by the French Legion of Honor and National Order of Merit Association (FLH-NOMA). Aside from the French Ambassador, the FLH delegation was composed of its officers headed by Vice-president Louis-Paul Heussaff and former Philippine House Speaker Jose De Venecia, who were welcomed by local officials.

The group, in a ceremony on the island of Simunul, formally handed over the completed project to the Makdum Mosque Foundation.

The renovation project, including the visit of the French Ambassador is expected to draw more visitors, especially during the celebration of the Makdum Day in November.

Built in 1380, the mosque is the oldest found in the Philippines and host of pilgrims from neighboring Muslim countries like Malaysia and Indonesia and even from Mindanao. Although it has been worn by the ravages of time, its pillars still stand to this day. (Babylyn Kano Omar and Amir Mawallil)