The Soccsksargen Experience (SEx) Tour opened with a trip to Maitum. Soccsksargen stands for South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Saragani, and General Santos, the provinces of South Central Mindanao, Region XI. Maitum is a town in Sarangani Province. And it paved the way to get the SEx Tour participants excited with the event. The first stop was the Maitum Town Hall which also housed the Maitum Museum. The museum housed cultural and historical artifacts of the town and its indigenous people. The most remarkable artifacts were the clay jars which held the bones of the early people of Maitum. The museum also had a display of indigenous music instruments and costumes including several tinalak belts and textiles. Up next was a hearty breakfast prepared by Cresing's Food Products. It was a cornucopia of seafood, organically grown rice, salted eggs, veggies, and rice coffee drinks. I absolutely enjoyed it and want to go back for more, more, more. Our last stop in Maitum is the Maitum River where some of the participants enjoyed a rough tube ride through the white waters of the river. It was certainly a trip with all the right ingredients combined for a total experience: history and…
Category: events
Lakan at Lakambini ng Gen San 2011
On February 23, 2011, 20 of General Santos City's most charming men and most beautiful ladies competed to win the title of Lakan at Lakambini ng Gen San 2011. After the grueling closed door casual interview with the candidates, I was excited to see them on stage at the Atrium of the Gaisano Mall of Gen San. The program was brief and enjoyable. It opened with the candidates donned in their black and white outfits, introducing themselves to the eager audience. After which, the candidates wowed the crowd with their beautiful bodies as they modeled in their swimsuit attire. They also ramped on stage wearing their casual attires sponsored by Freego Jeans. They were also given the chance to showcase their wits and communication skills as they bantered with the pageant hosts. The candidates' had their last chance to wow the crowd and the distinguished board of judges as they wore elegant Filipiana formal wear by Johnny Abad. After which, the top three Lakan candidates and Lakambini candidates were announced. The top three males were Jomie Faulda, Francis Lagudas, and Richard Nuñez, while the top three females were Dallen Baldonado, Gensan Kabatingan, and Joanna Tan. The six contender's intelligence and…
Up Close and Personal
The first time I watched the Lakan at Lakambini Pageant was 2010. Back then, I was just a spectator and my friends were the judges. Needless to say, I was impressed by the pageant and the depth of talent and grace that the candidates had. They were a fun batch of young kids I enjoyed talking to. And they were good looking too. So when my good friend, Orman Manansala master events engineer of Project O! Consultants, invited me to judge the Lakan at Lakambini ng Gen San 2011, I immediately said yes. The pageant show was going to be on February 23, 2011 and I was going to General Santos City on February 22. On February 21, 2011, I received a call from Orman asking if I would be able to make it to Gen San on February 21, 2011 for the closed door casual interview with the candidates. After re-arranging my schedule, I said yes and braced myself for an interesting afternoon with 20 of the most gorgeous and dashing youth of General Santos City. The Lakan at Lakambini ng Gen San 2011 is a beauty, talent, and personality search and 25% of the final scores of the…
Why I Blog Contest Winners
It's time to announce the winners for this month's WebSpark and Life with Ria blogging contest. We received a total of 19 entries for our "Why I Blog" Blogging Contest and it was quite hard to judge all the entries. But a few really stood out from the rest. In behalf of WebSpark, I'd like to congratulate the First Prize winner, Joanna Grace Banting-Lapore who shared in her entry Why I Blog the three reasons why she blogs: 1. I blog because I am excited to PUSH beyond my limits. 2. I blog because I am committed to RESONATE beyond my vocal range. 3. I blog because I am committed to INFLUENCE beyond my sphere. Joanna won one Personal Webhosting Package from WebSpark. The two runners-up who each won one Blog-Lite Webhosting Package from WebSpark are: Aubrey Graze Pareja - Why I Blog April Pascoguin - Why I Blog And the winner of the raffle who gets a Blog-Lite Webhosting Package is Entry #7, Alberto Egot Jr. Congratulations to all the winners! We will be holding another blogging contest, with the same prizes on February. The mechanics will be announced in this blog on February 1, 2011. If you want…
Kalilangan Festival in General Santos City Day 3
We started the day early as Chattee, Dulce, and I were planning to eat early lunch at PiYESta! so we could be on time for our judging chores. Alas! Orman picked us up from the hotel to have a sumptuous Filipino lunch with Avel, Marz, Dino, and Sir Johnny Abad at Jams in Mt. Sabrina, Tambler Hills. The view was breath-taking. And even when the sun was working extra hard to make us feel its heat, the air lent a cool breeze which made our al fresco lunch very much enjoyable. And the food... well, how can you go wrong with Nilagang Baka, Grilled Tuna Belly, Grilled Tuna Jaw, and Steamed Pompano? Everything was yummy! After lunch, we headed to Donna Congson's Envy Me Salon to have our hair, make up, and nails done. I was initially hesitant to have my make up done since I have sensitive skin and I easily get allergies with heavy make up. But the guy who did my make up did it so well. It was light and very much complimented my sexy black and red look. Dulce, Chattee, Donna, Romarie Ivy Cunanan, and I were tasked to judge that day's pageant: the Queen…