CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The internationally famous Loboc Children’s Choir will hold two shows in the city this coming February 14, Valentine’s Day, and on February 15 for the benefit of those hit by recent calamities in Bohol.
In a statement, Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said that the first of the two-performance engagements will be held on February 14 (Friday) at 7 p.m. at the Holy Angel University Theater in Angeles City.
The second, a by-invitation only dinner-concert, will be hosted by Laus Group of Companies chairman and chief executive officer Levy P. Laus at his residence in the City of San Fernando on February 15 (Saturday) at 6 p.m., the statement added.
Dubbed as "Heart and Soul: Two Evenings of Fine Music for a Cause," the concerts will unite Bohol’s top performing group with another world-class artist, premier violinist Coke Bolipata. Pampanga’s very own Sinukwan Performing Arts and Arti-Sta. Rita will do the front act for the Angeles and San Fernando concerts, respectively.
The Heart and Soul concerts promise to give the audience a dose of popular love songs and OPM (Original Pilipino Music) hits.
The choir’s Pampanga engagement was initiated by Curia Sancti Rosarii, Inc., an affiliate of Holy Rosary Parish which is among the prime movers of Pampanga for Visayas/Palawan (Pampanga Multi-Sectoral Partnership for Generation of Aid for Visayas/Palawan).
Pampanga for Visayas/Palawan is a multi-sectoral undertaking to mobilize resources in aid of communities affected by the natural calamities that hit the country last year.
It has engaged in the organized mobilization and deployment of material and financial assistance to various communities in Visayas and Palawan. The initiative generated at least P7.5 M in cash from individual, corporate and group donations that were coursed through the Social Action Center of Pampanga (SACOP) and Holy Rosary Parish in Angeles City.
“As survivors of an equally devastating natural calamity (referring to the Pinatubo eruption in 1991), this is our way of inspiring Boholanos to carry on,” Bishop David said.
Noting how initial efforts to help the Bohol quake victims were pre-empted and eventually sidetracked by the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda in Eastern Visayas, Bishop David made it a point to set aside funds for Bohol after extending various forms of assistance to Eastern Samar, Northern Leyte and Coron, Palawan.
Bishop David said that he first heard about the choir’s noble mission to help restore their heritage churches and help rebuild lives through music when they came to Makati to do a series of fundraising concerts.
Negotiations to bring the group to Pampanga began immediately thereafter. The full proceeds from the two concerts will be turned over to the Diocese of Tagbilaran for the restoration of the Loboc Church and to the Loboc Children’s Choir for the group’s socio-cultural programs.
Built in the 17th C by Jesuit missionaries, with improvements made by Augustinian Recollects in the 18th century, Loboc Church was the second oldest church in Bohol and was declared a National Cultural Treasure in 2001. It was one of Bohol’s top tourist attractions and pilgrimage sites before the October 15, 2013 earthquake reduced it to rubble, necessitating massive repairs and restoration.