Feature

Voluntourism for Capiz

By Pepin

Photo credit to nonoying.com

Capiz is one of the hardly hit provinces when typhoon Yolanda made land fall in the country. Many municipalities were severely devastated. Families were displaced and millions were lost for damaged properties.

Now the local government is encouraging tourists visiting the province to spare some of their time to help in the post-typhoon rehabilitation thru the Voluntourism program. It aims to let tourist have a sense of fulfillment on their vacation by rebuilding the lives of people who were severely affected by the disaster.

Some activities that tourists can lend their helping hand to are coastal clean-up, house and school building, tree planting, livelihood training for women and indigenous groups, and clearing operations.

Interested persons or parties can contact the Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs office (PTCAO) at (036) 621-00-42 local 133 or (036) 621-29-35, or thru email at capiz.tourism@yahoo.com. Official Facebook page is at facebook.com/CapizTourismAndCulturalAffairs.

Announcement

I Am Iloilo Video Contest

Photo credit to http://www.iloilocity.gov.ph 

In collaboration with The Iloilo City Tourism Council, the promotional I am ILOILO video contest kicks off this December.

Categories 
-3-minute feature 
-30-second teaser/ad 

Dynamics 
1. Contest is open to all video enthusiasts. 
2. Each category will have a winner; 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place 
3. The producers of the winning entries will receive cash prizes and their winning entries may become official promotional videos of the city to be loop-played in terminals, airport and ports. 4. Copies of the promotional material will be made available to the public. 

Selection Process 
1. From among the entries, 5 from each category will be selected for public airing. 2. Finalists will have a public airing in a strategic location/s in the city to solicit text votes. 3. The winners will be selected from the finalists in each category and will be judged by a group of industry practitioners carefully selected by the organizer. Part of the judging will be determined by votes from the audience who will text in their votes during the airing of the video. 

Contest Guidelines 
1. All entries should revolve around Iloilo City’s new battle cry “I am Iloilo, Proud to be Ilonggo! “ This is open to all, including the province. “I am Iloilo” is a passionate declaration that there is nothing else like Iloilo – it is claiming ownership of the place and personifying it in one’s being. It is a statement that embodies what Iloilo is all about – its rich history and culture, heritage houses and mansions, majestic river, colorful festivals, warm people, sumptuous cuisines, grand churches, among other tourism attractions. 

2. The length of the entry should be strictly observed: a. a 3-minute category should not exceed 4 minutes but not less than 3 minutes and b. 30-second entry should not be more than 30 seconds. 

3. Contest Schedule and deadlines. 
Registration deadline is on December 7, 2013. The video submission deadline is on December 18, 2013 Pre-screening of ICTC committee is on December 16, 2013. Public viewing of finalists is on December 16, 2013. Announcement of winners is on December 31, 2013 (during the New Year’s countdown).

4. Follow copyright laws. Be sure that you have permission to use any music, video, or animation that appears in your video. 

5. All final outputs must include in their credits a listing of the major and minor sponsors of the competition. The list is going to be provided by ICTC. 

6. All entries should be in HD DVD format. 1DVD per entry. 

7. No commercial content is permitted. No branding should be included in any part of the video. 

8. Photos or footage of any politician in any part of the video is not allowed. 

9. Audience. The audience for these videos is the public at large so the use of English is encouraged although portions may be in the target language. All content should be appropriate for all ages. No abusive, obscene or vulgar language or scene is allowed in any video. 

10. All final outputs of winning entries must include in their credits a listing of the major and minor sponsors of the competition. The list is going to be provided by ICTC. 

11. All entries should not be uploaded prematurely in the net. Violations of this rule shall disqualify the contestant. 

12. All winning entries will become the official property of the Iloilo City Government. 

Judging Criteria 
1. All videos in all categories will be judged on the following criteria 

Content (30%) 
Is the "message" engaging and appropriate to the theme of the contest?
Creativity (30%) 
Is the idea shared innovative and creative? Is it original?
Execution (30% ) 
Is the use of technology effective and used appropriately to get the message across to the audience.
Effect: (10%) 
Was the overall effect achieved in communicating to the audience? This will be determined by votes from the audience during the public airing

2. Finality of Decisions. All decisions are final and binding in all matters relating to this competition.

Prizes 
1. Prizes for "The Video Competition" winners for all categories are as follows:
1st Place: PHP 10,000.00 with a plaque of recognition 2nd Place: PHP 7,000.00 with a plaque of recognition 3rd Place: PHP 5,000.00 with a plaque of recognition
2. Most Popular Video for each category: PHP 2,000.00 plus plaque of recognition
3. All finalists will get a plaque of recognition.

Feature

Iloilo was prepared

By Pepin

When typhoon Yolanda hit Iloilo, people were expecting that the flood control effort would save the province from the devastation, and it did. The people were more prepared to face the super typhoon after the incident with Typhoon Frank left unfathomable wreckage back in June 2008.

It can be remembered that a lot of families were displaced, properties were destroyed, and lives were lost when Frank smashed the province with strong winds and heavy rains that caused flooding in many areas, including the metropolis. The aftermath was just inconceivable with major roads blocked with bulky sludge and people scouting for food, water, and shelter.

The local government learned a vital lesson from that tragedy and conceptualized strategies to secure the community. Different sectors were able to contribute for the planning and implementation of those strategies.

The flood control system cost quite a sum of money, but it was able to effectively contain flood water that rushed from the highlands when Typhoon Yolanda hit the province. As a result, potential damage to properties was avoided and lives were spared.

However, the government and private sectors should still continue to work together to address flooding in some low-lying areas and to train people on disaster management. The public should also proactively participate in protecting the environment. One of the best things to do is to keep sewage and water paths clear of garbage and prohibited constructions.

Keeping people informed on how they can be able to help themselves and the rest of the community when calamities strike can save more lives.