Cobonpue raises P8.8 M for charity from APEC Yoda chairs

MANILA, Philippines  — A total of P 8.81 million was raised at the "Auction for Action" which sold six pieces of Kenneth Conbonpue's Yoda chairs for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Manila.

The fundraising event, initiated by UNICEF Special Advocate for Children Daphne Osena-Paez and held in Kenneth Cobonpue's showroom in Makati, featured the chairs used by US President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Benigno Aquino III at the APEC 2015 Economic Leaders' welcome dinner.

The chairs were sold out within two hours of the live bidding, with Trudeau's and Obama's earning the highest bids at P2.05 million and P2 million, respectively.

The chair used by  Aquino III, meanwhile, fetched P 1.55 million while Peña Nieto's chair followed with P 1.5 million. The Singaporean leader's chair earned P1 million, while Abe's chair went up to P710,000.

All the proceeds gathered at the auction will benefit UNICEF's 1,000 Days Campaign promoting access to essential health nutrition and services during a child's first 1,000 days.

"More than the amount we raised, we are also very happy that we were able to use this event as an opportunity to raise awareness on the importance of a child’s first 1,000 days of life," Oseña-Paez said at the fundraising event.

This was the fourth installment of UNICEF's Auction for Action, which the television host started in 2011, with the first three auctions raising P8.2 million for children's program. — Alixandra Caole Vila