Towns, cities gear up for 1st Christmas landmark-making contest

FROM the far-flung province of Apayao in the north to the distant city of Tangub, Misamis Oriental, the spirit of Christmas is now felt even this rainy month of November as local government units gear up to create the best Christmas landmark to represent their respective cities or municipalities in Lady’s Choice' “Christmasterpiece: Bayanihang Pasko 2005.”

The town of Luna in Apayao, San Fernando City in La Union, Manapla City in Negros Occidental, and Tangub City in Mindanao are now all busy building their symbolic landmarks to reflect the traditional Filipino celebration of the Chrismas season.

“These towns are just a few of the participants who signed up early for this competition. We are truly grateful for the overwhelming interest they’ve shown in support of this meaningful endeavor which aims to foster unity and creativity among Filipinos in this trying times, “ said Lady's Choice brand manager Rudi Ramin.
Luna, Apayao Mayor Betty Versola epitomizes a true leader to a town of enthusiastic supporters who are indeed modern-day bayanihan heroes. “We are really excited to be a part of this momentous endeavor because we all need to be reminded of our good qualities as Filipinos. This is really a fitting time to showcase our rich traditions that are best displayed during the Holiday season,” she said.

Mayor Versola has gone to the extent of conducting a cooking contest using the Lady’s Choice products so the bottles could be of use for the landmark-making contest.

“That’s how eager we are to showcase our creativity,” Versola shares.

Meanwhile in San Fernando, La Union, Mayor Mary Jane Ortega takes pride in being the very first town to sign up for the contest. “We find this as a very significant contribution in an effort to bring Filipinos closer together in these hard times. Nothing could be more fulfilling than to see your constituents work hard to achieve a common goal: to create a landmark that shall inspire us Filipinos this Christmas season,” she said.

While refusing to say what her city's entry is, Ortega described it as “one that definitely mirror La Union's Christmas tradition.”

Over at Manapla City in Negros Occidental, the parish church is as excited. No less than Monsignor Guillermo Gaston lead the creation of a belen-themed landmark with the collective effort from the parishioners.

“What makes our belen truly different yet inspiring is that instead of the traditional manger, our landmark have trimmings of a fishing village to reflect the local scene,” he explains.

The Monsignor said they are truly grateful to Lady’s Choice. He said the project provided a renewed sense of unity not only among parishioners, but also among the schools and barangays of the municipality.

“We are very encouraged with the enthusiasm shown by our parishioners. We have asked them to donate empty bottles of Lady's Choice and they are all very supportive,” he says.

In Tangub City, Vice Mayor Edemar Alota and his constituents could not be more up to the challenge. In fact, the southern city is now heralded as “the team to beat.”

“We will have five entries for the contest,” the vice mayor said. “We’ve organized the local government employees to group them into five teams to come up with different renditions of the Filipino Christmas tradition. Our entries will be displayed in the town plaza, where people can see the fruits of their labor.”

Vice Mayor Alota said the local government plans to launch its official entry on Dec. 1. In the meantime, his mouth is zipped about the details of the entry to beat. “What’s important, really, is the hard work our people put into this landmark. We want to showcase our ingenuity here in Tangub, and this is really a great way to show it. This is also our way of giving tribute to our constituents and making them happy especially this coming Holiday season,” he said.

“These are just few of the entries and we are really excited to hear the stories of the others and those who are preparing to join as they create their Christmasterpieces,” Lady's Choice' Ramin said.

The best entry will be named the “Most Creative Town or City” and will be given a P1-million grant for a Creativity Center. On top of the grant, the winning team will take home P100,000, another P100,000 will go to the sponsoring civic organization, and P25,000 each for the regional finalists. Aside from these amazing prizes, the finalists will automatically be included in the Lady’s Choice 2006 Commemorative Calendar.