January 30, 2010
Arts, Beauty, Humor, Mindanaoan Update, Ozamis, Personal, Photos, Society
All right, Mindanaoan has shown you the “formal” photos taken during a recent Ozamiz City, Mindanao wedding, yes? Now it’s time to show you the fresh, fun, funky side! After all, my professional wedding photographer-brother Bon is proud of producing “fresh, fun, funky photography!” (I coined this, by the way! 
) I – Mindanaoan – was one of Bon’s 2nd photographers during that beautiful wedding in Mindanao.
First stop of our fresh, fun, funky wedding photography escapade in Ozamiz City was the groom and groomsmen’s preparations. While waiting for Quennie, the bride, and her entourage to get all dolled up, Garry, the groom, along with his groomsmen, was photographed right in the middle of the very busy street near Royal Garden Hotel, where the pre-nuptial preparations were made.
Check out the boys in a “Godfather”-like pic:
LikeOctober 26, 2009
Beauty, Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Consumer, Corporate, Events, Fashion, Features, Leisure, Mindanaoan Artists, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Personal, Personalities, Society, Style, blogging
Thanks to SPRUCE Designer Network, Inc., to its owners Trisha and Vanessa Tamparong and to its very amiable marketing officer Cristina Maagad (Hello, Miss Tiny!), I had a blast at the recently concluded Make Your Own Havaianas 2009 Cagayan de Oro leg event. The MYOH 2009 Northern Mindanao event was held last October 23 to 25, 2009 at the Atrium, Limketkai Mall, Cagayan de Oro City and it was my very first Make Your Own Havaianas experience!
Armed with my VIP invitation, I went to the Atrium and left with a huge smile on my face! It was fun “creating” my own special pair. No wonder Havaianaticos look forward to this special event!
The whole process was not only fun but pretty fast, too. I was given a brochure where I was to write my contact information and for me to choose my preferred sole color, size and style (there were adult slim and top styles available), preferred strap color and style as well as my preferred Havaianas Lifestyle Pins.
It was easy to choose since there were specially designed “wheels” which you can use to compare colors, style and to mix and match straps with soles.
Since this year’s theme is “Put some local soul into your step,” I chose four Culture Pins that depicted Filipino pride — the vinta, jeepney, sorbetero and Philippine map pins.
There are also other available designs such as a lomo cam and Swarovski crystals.
As soon as I made up my mind on how my masterpiece should look like, I approached a member of the Havaianas team and she assembled my special pair for me…on the spot! That was a first for me, too, by the way…it was the first time for me to witness firsthand how a pair of Havaianas was assembled!
August 3, 2009
Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Consumer, Flights, Internet, Leisure, Mindanaoan Update, Musings, Personal, Society, Tourism, Travel, northern mindanao
A few hours after the Rock the Vote 2009 Cagayan de Oro leg and after sharing a hearty meal with the members of Team Oro Photo and Video (who generously extended their time and support to the Register and Vote Campaign…thank you, thank you!) as well as the event’s hosts, Maxine Monasterio (Miss Teen Philippines 2007 and a CDO native) and Titus “TJ” Monterde (he’s the son of Tito Monterde, the station manager of Wild FM CDO) — (Max and TJ also host the ABS CBN Northern Mindanao Sunday show, Mag TV Na, Ato Ni!), I caught a CDO – Cebu PAL Express flight.
PAL Express is owned by Philippine Airlines and is geared towards shorter flights.
It was my first time to catch a PAL Express flight. After years of traveling from CDO to Cebu via boats (I’ve tried Trans Asia Shipping Lines, Superferry and – gulp – Sulpicio), I decided that a PAL Express flight was already in order. I simply had no time and energy to endure roughly 11 hours of travel time at sea.
I caught the 9:50 AM Cagayan de Oro – Cebu City PAL Express flight PR 286. I was already at the airport an hour and a half early but I didn’t mind since I brought along my trusty Hewlett Packard 2133 netbook (if you want to check out my jazzed up HP baby, click this) Unfortunately, CDO airport still does not offer free wireless internet so to while away the time, I decided to sift through photos I recently took. The PAL Express staff members were very courteous and even the security guard helped me with my one big Nike gym bag (which hardly contained anything except for a few clothing pieces and my DSLR camera) Thumbs up for helpful staff!
Something embarrassing happened that morning, by the way. My name was called via the PA system because apparently I dropped my boarding pass…and get this…I didn’t even notice! Ayayay…I was probably so zoned out after the many days of preparing for the RV Campaign that I just sipped my coffee, checked my computer files, watched TV…and didn’t even realize that I no longer have my boarding pass and baggage number with me. Good thing someone found it and promptly returned it to the PAL Express counter. Thanks to the PAL Express staff, too!
We boarded the plane on time (9:30 AM) – which, I must admit, is a bit surprising knowing that PAL’s notoriously known for being “late” (hence, the joke “PAL-aging late.” Thank goodness the flight that day was on time.
Here are some photos I took before I boarded my plane:
Pre-departure area of the Cagayan de Oro airport
Here’s a photo of the PAL Express plane (along with a shot of the plane’s tail where a cool and golden “Cagayan de Oro” logo complete with pineapple can be found! Nice no?)
The entire flight was pretty short — very short! A total of thirty eight minutes! Can you imagine? Compared to traveling for 11 hours, you’ll be at your destination within 38 minutes!
And you can’t beat the airfare, too. I only paid P980.00 for a one-way ticket. Add P30.00 for the airport fee so that’s P1100.00 all in all — still not very heavy on your pocket especially if you need to be in Cebu right away.
One “highlight” during my Cagayan de Oro to Cebu plane ride, by the way, was when the captain took to the microphone and greeted us passengers. It turned out that Captain Patrick Roa had quite the baritone voice LOL So the passengers who were already in deep slumber couldn’t help but wake up when they heard the captain speak LOL The captain was fluent in English and sounded friendly so even if he told us that we were cruising at 16,000 feet or something like that…I, for one, felt safe and secure. Too bad I didn’t get to see the man behind the baritone voice! Hehehe
Anyways, my trip was safe and fast. I highly recommend that you ride a plane the next time you’re planning a CDO to Cebu or Cebu to CDO trip. Less hassle, fees and rates are reasonable and budget-friendly and you can enjoy the sights and sounds of Cebu or CDO in no time!
By the way, you can book your PAL Express flights using your ATM card. Enjoy traveling!
August 3, 2009
Advocacy, Announcements, Bukidnon, Business, Cagayan de Oro City, Campus, Entertainment, Events, Features, Government, Internet, Journalism, Mindanaoan Update, Music, News, Personal, Personalities, Photos, Politics, blogging, northern mindanao
Roughly 8,000 people made the pledge to register and vote in the May 2010 national elections last July 30, 2009 during the Rock the Vote 2009 Cagayan de Oro City leg held at Xavier University Gymnasium, Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao.
Rock the Vote is a musical cum advocacy show which aims to encourage people especially first time voters to register at the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and exercise their right to suffrage. Rock the Vote is also a part of the ongoing Register and Vote (RV) campaign, which is led by Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
Pangilinan, along with author Atty. Alex Lacson, AKBAYAN Party List Rep. Risa Hontiveros and Bayan Muna Party List Rep. Teddy Casino, led the reading of a unity statement which declares commitment to bring about needed change through being a responsible voter.
Students from various Cagayan de Oro schools, young adults who have yet to register, stakeholders, representatives from various sectors of society and private citizens from CDO, Bukidnon, Butuan and other areas in Northern Mindanao converged and declared their support to the ongoing RV campaign.
Popular bands Hale and Spongecola and crooner Luke Mejares performed during the Cagayan de Oro Rock the Vote show.
Earlier that day, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing between Pangilinan and COMELEC, representatives of NGOs, media groups, business groups and private organization groups took place. The MOA signified all parties’ commitment to encourage more people to register and vote. All parties agreed that to register and vote is an essential role that each Filipino must play.
After the MOA signing, Pangilinan then proceeded to a Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) forum where he led the distribution of hundreds of Certificates of Land Ownership Agreement (CLOAs) to beneficiaries from South Bukidnon, North Bukidnon, CDO, Agusan and Camiguin, among others.
Pangilinan then proceeded to Mindanao University of Science and Technology for an advocacy forum. Despite the rain, hundreds of students, teachers and school administrators gamely stayed and listened to Pangilinan. Joining the independent senator were Lacson and Casino. The three urged the students to further strengthen their voice as citizens of the country by voting in the 2010 national elections. Pangilinan reminded the students that they only need to bring a single valid ID during registration.
After the MUST forum, Pangilinan, Lacson and Casino proceeded to the Cagayan de Oro College, where they were joined by Hontiveros and former Bukidnon Rep. Neric Acosta. A similar advocacy forum took place.
Check out these photos Mindanaoan – blogger in Mindanao took during the Rock the Vote 2009 CDO leg:
[Gallery not found]Very special thanks to ASTERISK Events and Communications, Team Oro Photo and Video Coverage group, Atoy Martinez High Definition Video and to the CDO Bloggers. Mindanaoan would also like to thank all media colleagues as well as Maxine and TJ for their support. If you wish to tap ASTERISK Events and Communications for events management, photo and video coverage, public relations services, advertising and media relations services, please don’t hesitate to CONTACT THEM here. You can also CONTACT TEAM ORO through this form.
On a personal note, Mindanaoan would like to thank Lizel, Julie and most especially Sir Jojo. Daghang salamat!
ALL PHOTOS FOUND IN THIS ARTICLE ARE COURTESY OF IRENE, a Mindanao-based photographer, journalist, events organizer and publicist. Contact her here.
May 9, 2009
Advocacy, Announcements, Cagayan de Oro City, Events, Mindanaoan Update, Music, Personal, Society
Two members of Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao-based TEAM ORO, a group composed of fine photographers, videographers, stylists and graphic designers, met a very serious car accident just this week. Aye Navarro and Cocong Ohashi sustained serious injuries, burns and bruises. Aye’s car was totally wrecked and Cocong underwent an operation for internal bleeding. Both will have to stay at the hospital until they are fully recovered.
In line with this, TEAM ORO will have a Portrait for a Cause and Basic Photography Workshop/Tutorial. All proceeds will go to Aye and Cocong’s medications and hospital bills.
Please…if you’re interested to join or help in any way, please do not hesitate to leave your contact details HERE or you can also leave a comment under this entry. We will need all the help that we can get.
By the way, this cause is close to our hearts because TEAM ORO is the very same team that has been helping me and my Southrace boys. My youngest brother is also a part of TEAM ORO.
My SOUTHRACE boys and I will also plan a fundraising gig somewhere in Cagayan de Oro City. Please stay tuned for details.
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