Capitol launches Yolanda photo tilt

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu provincial government launched on Wednesday a photo contest as part of the activities slated for the commemoration of super typhoon Yolanda that hit northern Cebu on November 8 last year.

Governor Hilario Davide III led the launching activity of the photo contest.

Cebu Provincial Information Office organized the contest, in coordination with the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Office, Smart Communications Inc. and LENS, Cebu’s group of photojournalists.

“It is open to all professional and amateur photographers. No age limit is imposed. However, as organizers, Cebu provincial government officials and employees, as well as LENS members, are not allowed to join,” the Capitol posted on its website.

PDRRMO Chief Baltz Tribunalo Jr. explained that the contest aims to capture tragic and inspirational experiences, as well as stories of recovery.

The deadline for submission of entries is set at 5 p.m. of October 27. The announcement of winners will be on November 7.

Aside from certificates of recognition, cash prizes await the winners of the contest in every category: P15,000 for the first place; P10,000 for second; and P5,000 for third.

The contest categories are Yolanda Emergency Response and Search and Rescue, Yolanda Relief Operations and Yolanda Rehabilitation and Recovery Phase.

How to join

To register, interested participants must submit to the Cebu PIO at the Capitol the completely filled out registration form, hard copy of photo entry in 8x10 printout, digital raw file of photo entry at 300dpi resolution and at least five MB in size stored in CD/DVD.

Registration form can be downloaded from provincial government’s website at www.cebu.gov.ph.

There is no limit on the number of entries per person per category but each entry must comply with the following requirements:

Photographs must have been taken since November 8, 2013 when Yolanda struck and must be taken from 16 Yolanda-affected towns and city in northern Cebu.

Only minor burning, dodging and/or color correction (contrast, saturation), as well as cropping, are acceptable. Major alterations such as digitally adding or removing anything are not allowed.

Judging

Contest consists of two rounds of evaluation. In round one, selected members of the organizing committee will pre-select 10 best photo entries in each category according to creativity, relevance to the theme and photographic quality.

In round two, the judges will collectively select top three winners in each category. In the event of a tie, the tied entries will be re-submitted to the judges for a re-judging between the tied entries alone.

In the event that a tie remains after re-judging, the entry with the highest score in the creativity criteria will be declared the winner.

Aside from the photo contest, other activities include the launching of the “Paglig-on Rehabilitation Update” portal of the Cebu’s official website on October 22.

On November 6, there will also be a launching of exhibits from different non-government organizations, international NGOs and government agencies.

The formal program to commemorate the anniversary of Yolanda will be held on November 7 at the Bogo City Coliseum.

On November 8, tour packages will be offered in 16 local government units affected by the monster typhoon.  (FREEMAN)