Monday, September 01, 2008 Costanilla: Camp’s own ‘for the first time’ By Sam Costanilla Spotlight
FOR the first time, since its birth in 1985, the Cebu Association of Media Practitioners (Camp) Inc., now a “reinvented” press club, had no less than Gov. Gwen Garcia, Vice Gov. Greg Sanchez, Jr. and philanthropist Mariquita Salimbangon-Yeung as special guests of honor during its oath-taking ceremony. The club’s original officers and members told me the induction program last Aug. 26 at the Capitol social hall was the most bongga and star-studded affair because aside from those three personalities already mentioned, some provincial board members and two top local police officers were around to witness it.
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THE woman governor also administered the oath of office to the Camp officers led by Peace Times publisher Jun Alcover and yours truly as vice president. In her message to us, Gov. Garcia recalled her stint with the now defunct dyRE where, as a mass communication intern, she hosted a program.
Sporting the radio name Lady G, she had to give advise to her listeners who had problems on love and other topics under the sun. She also challenged the new Camp Inc. and its officers and members to adhere to the tenets of responsible media practice and to never use their media outlets in order to malign other people.
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BY the way, this writer, as chair of the club’s committee on membership, has already started the “cleansing process” by eliminating those that have applied for membership but do not have media outlets to associate with in the first place. My committee members are commentators Dan Nolasco and Ed Batiquin, dyKC/RPN 9 station manager Max Andrino and ace news photographer Loy Jurado. Our intention is to come up with a list of legitimate media practitioners and kick out those that belong to the ACDC (attack and collect, defend and collect) sector.
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IT is heartening to note that some local colleges and universities are now staging campus plays featuring their talented students as writers, directors, actors and technical personnel. It is about time that campus plays are “resurrected” or revived if only to give the students the opportunity to hone their skills in the arena of stage productions. We also thank college and university administrators for their favorable or positive position as far as campus plays are concerned. Without their support and approval, these productions won’t get shown. Mounting them isn’t easy but if school officials endorse them, campus plays become a venue of expressing and exposing the students’ talent as performing artists.
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MY good friend Dr. Henry Yu has e-mailed that the Golden Center of Cebu, Inc. (GCCI) will hold its 3rd convention Oct. 3-4 at the Cebu Grand Convention Center with the theme “The Joy of Living the Golden Years and Beyond.” Former education secretary Lourdes Quisumbing is the event’s keynote speaker. Doc Henry wrote that the confab will also feature the awarding of the Most Outstanding Centenarian of Cebu. The GCCI is an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life among the senior members of our community. For queries, call tel. nos. 2322273, 2533376 or 2538653.
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THIS writer had the privilege of emceeing the 50th or golden wedding reception of Tatay Emil and Nanay Rose Rizada at the Cebu International Convention Center. The celebration was the most appropriate way of marking the couple’s half-a-century of togetherness, a manifestation of the genuine love for each other and a perfect example of how to raise children to become successful professionals. To the radio listeners in the 50s-60s, Tatay Emil was Sebyo, Batang Kahibulongan (Sebyo, The Wonder Boy) which was a very popular soap opera then.
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THE wedding reception was a well-attended affair and the cultural dances and song numbers were so delightful, although the ethnic dance presentation was a bit lengthy. In their short thank-you messages, the golden couple paid tribute to their wonderful kids, all professionals now, and relatives for putting up a memorable program. By the way, Tatay Emil is the founding chair of the Cebu United Radio & Television Artists Corp., a club of retired, semi-retired and active radio and television drama writers, directors and actors. It is getting bigger and bigger in terms of funds and membership.
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THIS self-proclaimed commentator has failed in his bid to join a local tri-media organization after its officers and members blocked him. Everybody hates this guy so something must be wrong with him. (E-mail: samcost@yahoo.com or text 09268443888)
