CEBU - The Halad sa Kabataan will be held on October 18 at the Cebu International Convention Center in Mandaue City.
Roger Serna, one of the members of the Provincial Council for the Welfare of Children, said the event first started last year and will be held every October in consonance with universal celebration of the Children’s Month.
The project is initiated by the PCWC headed by Gov. Gwen Garcia with Provincial Board Member Agnes Magpale as co-chairwoman.
Starting 9 a.m., the Halad sa Kabataan will feature three separate competitions such as poetry, rondalla playing and the grand finals of the 2nd Children’s Popular Music Festival. The theme of the celebration this year is ‘Kabataan Kaabag sa Kalambuan sa Lalawigan’ (The Youth: Partners in the Development of the Province).
For the opening rites in the morning Garcia will deliver a message, her “State of the Children of the Province Address”.
The contestants for poetry delivery, which will be in Visayan, will focus on issues and concerns of children. There will be two representatives per district, aged 12 to 17 years. Cash prizes and trophies are at stake for the winners.
At 1 p.m., at least eight rondalla groups from the Borbon, Sogod, Minglanilla, Dalaguete, Aloguinsan, Oslob, Danao City and Talisay City will outdo each other in playing the contest piece, the Visayan tune “Sa Kabukiran”, which was composed by Manuel Velez and arranged for rondalla interpretation by Niño James Bañares. Each group is given the freedom to choose the warm-up piece.
Before the contest proper, all the contestants will play as one group another popular Visayan tune, “Mabuhi”, which was composed by Paul Melendez. Cash prizes and trophies will be given to the winning contestants.
At 5 p.m., the 2nd Children’s Popular Music Festival will start. Cebuano children aged 12 to 17 who participated in the songwriting workshop organized by the PCWC last July will interpret their output.
The finalists are: “Huni sa Paglaum” by Jay Marc Garcia and Vanisa Pearl Abelong of Mandaue City; “Paglaum” by Kristel Daene Clores of San Fernando; “Tudloi Ako” by Leira Rodriguez of Samboan; “Pangandoy Ko, Pangandoy Mo” by Mary Mae Cavalida of Samboan; “Kaniadto” by Ronald Vasig, Rosalito Carolasan and Richard Teves of Oslob; “Timbang” by Jason Mike Moneva and Lynel Sucalit of Catmon; “Ang Kahayag sa Akong Panaw” by Jose Thaddeus Roble III of Danao City; “Libre ang Mangandoy” by Eriza Agustien Capuno and Elma Cabreras of Carmen; “Kabataan” by Ava Laureen Arnejo, Marie Christine Maningo and April Lyna Armecen of Sogod; and, “Ang Hagit sa Bata” by Cynthia Guevarra of Malabuyoc.
Provincial officials and those from the local government units are expected to attend. The PCWC has contracted the services of Soundtraxx Production Studio to organize the competition.
Just recently, the Cebu provincial government, in celebration of the water conservation month, sponsored a poster-making contest and quiz bowl participated in by 90 private and public high schools all over the province.
Provincial Board member Victor Maambong, chairman of the Committee on Environment, said the one-day activity, with the theme “Fight Global Warming, Conserve our Waters, Protect Mother Earth”, aims not just awareness but also environmental activism.
Roy Robert Rusiana of the Consolacion National High School placed first in the poster-making contest, followed by Michaelangelo Palatulan of Sisters of Mary Boystown at second place, Nicholas Roa Kaleb of the Cebu Cherish School at third place, Anne Charmaine Yu of the Cebu Institute of Technology at fourth place and Adrian Remulta of the Cabancalan National High School at fifth place.
In the quiz bowl, Mandaue City School for the Arts placed first, while Sisters of Mary Boystown finished second, Labogon National High School landed at third, Pardo National High School emerged fourth and Camp Lapu-Lapu National High School got fifth place.
The winners received P7,000 for first place, P6,000 for second place, P5,000 for third place, P4,000 for fourth place and P3,000 for fifth.
The winners also received a trophy and a medal each. — Garry B. Lao/BRP (THE FREEMAN)