I LOVE MANOLO FORTICH

I Love Manolo Fortich... Not just because I was born here, but because it is the home I have chosen. We could have lived in Manila, what with all the work opportunities over there. We could have migrated to Australia, where my sister and her family lives. But we chose to settle down here, where our roots are.

September 9, 2009 (9-9-9) marked the grand launching of the I LOVE MANOLO FORTICH Special Project of the Manolo Fortich Government Unit. The event began with a simultaneous unveiling of welcome billboards at Barangays Alae and Maluko (boundaries of Manolo Fortich), followed by motorcades leading up to the Manolo Fortich Gym where a program had been prepared.

The opening prayer (The Prayer by Celine Dion) was sung by a very talented NBCC student, then a singing of the Philippine National Anthem and Bukidnon My Home. The emcees were so enthusiastic about their task that it was difficult to keep an objective standpoint. There was an impressive video presentation of the mayor's 14 Special Projects, of which this launching is one, and my next door neighbor, Bojun Bagayas, the municipality's tourism officer, elaborated on the concept. (Problem was, he spoke in the deep, deep dialect of Cebuano, so I couldn't really understand it.) Then the unveiling of yet another billboard and speeches from a couple of "our very own" celebrities -- Ms. Portia Paula Raposala, the reigning Laga Ta Bukidnon 2009, and Ms. Hazel 'Sheree' Bautista, a member of the famed sexy group Viva Hot Babes. Other endorsers (not present) were Mr Caesar Catli, Jr., a PBA player and Dr. Juan Acosta, a well-known plant scientist.

Towards the end of the show was a moving presentation of "Inang Bayan", a candle-lighting ceremony and community hugging to inspire all those present to feel some sense of belonging and pride in ourselves and in the town's progress.

Of course, the show had to end with a bang. Ms. Sheree had brought along her friends, Ms. Katya Santos and Ms. Maui Taylor, to entertain the audience with their sexily witty stand-up acts. Some might have thought them inappropriate for the general assembly but, they were certainly a big hit with the majority.

"I Love Manolo Fortich... a community inhabited by happy, peace-loving and responsible citizens!"

Congratulations, MF!

p.s. I have to apologize for the scarcity of pictures in this blog. I still haven't figured out how to transfer them from my (high tech) phone to PC, as the former did not come with a USB cable. Once I have, rest assured, pictures and possibly videos will abound!