National Heritage Month in Singapore: How Filipinos Can Celebrate Without Booking a Flight Home
May is National Heritage Month back home, and the Philippine Embassy in Singapore is opening its Chancery doors with 'Tuloy Po Kayo'. Here's how SG-based kababayans can join in, and why it matters more than it sounds.
National Heritage Month 2026 runs all May, and Filipinos in Singapore can celebrate it without booking a flight home. The Philippine Embassy is running heritage programming throughout the month, led by its 'Tuloy Po Kayo' Chancery Tours.
It's your chance to step inside the new Philippine Chancery on Nassim Road and see the Narra sculpture by Filipino artist Jed Yabut up close.
National Heritage Month, briefly
The Philippines proclaimed National Heritage Month in 2003. Every May it celebrates Filipino food, music, languages, traditions, visual arts and the stories that travel with us.
Back home it shows up in school programs, museum events and government press releases. In Singapore, you can miss it unless someone tells you.
This year the Embassy aims its May programming at the diaspora here, with the 'Tuloy Po Kayo' Chancery Tour as the headline draw.
'Tuloy Po Kayo': the Chancery Tour, explained
'Tuloy Po Kayo' means 'Please, come in'. It's a guided tour of the Embassy's newly reconstructed Chancery.
The Embassy piloted the tour earlier this year and now runs it as a recurring community offering, with expanded sessions this May for Heritage Month.
What happens on the tour:
You start with the weekly flag-raising ceremony at the Embassy. Yes, you'll feel something.
Guides lead you through the Narra Circle, where archival photographs trace the history of the Chancery and Philippine–Singapore diplomatic relations.
You see the Narra sculpture by Jed Yabut, the contemporary Filipino artist whose work anchors the Chancery's cultural identity.
Embassy officers explain the mission's work beyond consular services, including the cultural and diaspora work that often goes unseen.
The tour is short and light on your weekend. You also get to stand on a piece of Philippine soil, since the Chancery is, on paper, PH territory.
Who should go
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A long-term Filipino resident in SG who has never been inside the Chancery beyond a passport renewal.
A newly arrived OFW or EP holder building a sense of community here.
A Filipino parent who wants the kids to see PH heritage beyond a Lucky Plaza visit.
A Singaporean friend or partner of a Filipino. The Embassy has welcomed mixed groups before.
It also works for kapamilya visiting from back home.
How to join
The Embassy posts tour dates and registration details on philippine-embassy.org.sg. Its Facebook and Instagram pages carry the latest announcements.
Slots fill up fast during Heritage Month, so register early.
Bring valid ID: your PH passport or a government-issued SG document. Dress smart casual, since you're visiting a working embassy.
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More Heritage Month events in Singapore
Fiestang Pinoy 2026, the community festival run by Filipino groups in SG, with food, performances and bayanihan booths. The Embassy promotes it each year.
Pop-up cultural showcases at partner venues. Past years brought tinikling demos, OPM open mics and PH heritage exhibits at libraries.
Community Mass and gatherings that lean into Filipino traditions across May.
Follow the Embassy on social media this month to catch most of them.
Your move this week
Life abroad thins out your sense of being Pinoy, one adapted recipe at a time. One Heritage Month event a year, even an hour at the Chancery on a Saturday morning, pulls you back.
Check the Embassy's website or Facebook this weekend and pick one event before the end of May. Bring someone: a homesick kababayan, a Singaporean friend, or kids who have never set foot in the Chancery.
