VISITA IGLESIA 2016 @ BACOLOD CITY

March 24, 2016 Maundy Thursday

We are now in Bacolod City and we are searching for churches to visit tonight. We got a list of parishes and of course, we might have to search  each through Waze... if they would reflect there!

Fortunately, Jaybee's friend from Bacolod City decided to show us the way. He never did a "Visita Iglesia" before and thought we were his angels for him to do this the first time. I personally think that he is actually our angel showing the road to the seven churches we intended to find. 

From Wikipedia:

The Seven Churches Visitation also known as Visita Iglesia is an ancient pious Roman Catholic Lenten tradition to visit seven churches on the evening of Holy Thursday. On Maundy Thursday of Holy Week, following the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the Blessed Sacrament, is reserved on the Altar of Repose in the church for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. During the Seven Churches Visitation or Visita Iglesia, the faithful visit several churches – sometimes seven, sometimes fourteen, sometimes no set number depending upon the particular practice – to pray before the Blessed Sacrament in each church.

Church 1: Triumph of the Holy Cross
Burgos Extension, Barangay Estefania, Bacolod City

Church 2: St. Joseph the Workers Parish
Dona Juliana Heights, Bacolod City

Church 3: Holy Family Parish
Bacolod City

Church 4: San Antonio Abad Parish Church
General Lacson Street Extension, Bacolod City 

Church 5: Sacred Heart Diocesan Shrine
Lupit, Bacolod City 

Church 6: Oratory of St. Nicholas of Tolentine
University of Negros Occidental - Recoletos, Bacolod City

Church 7: Queen of Peace Parish Church
St. John Institute, Bacolod City

We thank you, Lord for giving us the opportunities for prayer even if we are away from our homeplace.

BELGIUM ICON: JEANNEKE PIS @ 2015

Did you know that there is a female version of the Manneken Pis?

If there is a Manneken Pis, there is also a Jeanneke Pis!

Here is a background about Jeanneke Pis from Wikipedia!

Jeanneke Pis is a modern fountain and statue in Brussels, which was intended to form a counterpoint to the city's Manneken Pis, south of the Grand Place.

It was commissioned by Denis-Adrien Debouvrie in 1985 and erected in 1987. The half-metre-high statue of blue-grey limestone depicts a little girl with her hair in short pittails, squatting and urinating.

It is located on the east side of the Impasse de la Fidélité / Getrouwheidsgang (Fidelity Alley), a narrow cul-de-sac some 30 metres long leading northwards off the restaurant-packed Rue des Bouchers / Beenhouwersstraat. The sculpture is now protected by iron bars from vandalism.

From Manneken Pis, we went through some small alleys until we reached the place...

And we reached Delirium, which is a Guiness Book of World Records winner for the most number of commercial beer varieties.

Then, just a few more meters was the Jeanneke Pis... not also a place I would expect the sculpture to be located. This place was close to the pubs.

 

 

It is quite interesting that they had to put grills to prevent vandalism... partly, because there could be some drunks in the pub areas?

Of course, I wouldn't know about that if I didn't have the best Brussels tour guide, James Luke and Dianne! Thanks a lot for your time!

I am remembering Brussels because of some grave untoward incident a few days ago this March 2016, but I will forever place Belgium in my heart as a beautiful and safe country with beautiful people, include our own countrymen who now call this place their own! 

BELGIUM ICON: MANNEKIN PIS ... A SYMBOL OF PEACE!

It was almost a year ago since I had been to Belgium, and I love the place!

There were already talks about the security of Belgium after the Paris bombing in January 2015, and I had some apprehensions. Brussels is the De Facto capital of the Europe and thus, may be prone to the threat!

But, coming from a place with a travel advisory, I knew I shouldn't be judgmental... and indeed, I did feel Belgium was one of the safest places to travel alone! What do I mean? I was able to walk  ALONE around Brussels, Leuven and Vilvoorde even reaching midnight with helpful folks (of course, trying to choose the most friendly ones) when asking for directions. 

In my two-week stay, I learned... I prayed... I enjoyed... I met the most awesome people... and I learned to love Belgium!

At the Breast Center of the Universitaire Zeikenhuis Leuven (UZ Leuven)

At the Carmelite Monstery in Vilvoorde, Belgium with Sr. Carmela Omandam and the Filipina sisters

My beautiful memories of Belgium came back after the news of the raid for terrorists a few days ago, but indeed, flooded back after the twin bombings in Brussels a day ago! 

And the most iconic symbol of Belgium is the MANNEKEN PIS.

From Wikipedia: Manneken Pis ( [ˌmɑnəkə(m) ˈpɪs] (help·info), meaning "Little man Pee" in Dutch) is a landmark small bronze sculpture (61 cm)^[1] in Brussels, depicting a naked little boy urinating into a fountain's basin. It was designed by Hiëronymus Duquesnoy the Elder and put in place in 1618 or 1619.^[2]

The famous statue is located at the junction of Rue de l'Étuve/Stoofstraat and Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat. To find it, one takes the left lane next to the Brussels Town Hall from the famous Grand Place and walks a few hundred metres southwest via Rue Charles Buls/Karel Bulsstraat.

History and Legends

The 61 cm tall bronze statue on the corner of Rue de l'Etuve and Rue des Grands Carmes was made in 1619 by Brussels sculptor Hieronimus Duquesnoy the Elder, father of the more famous François Duquesnoy. The figure has been repeatedly stolen: the current statue dates from 1965. The original restored version is kept at the Maison du Roi/Broodhuis on the Grand Place.

There are several legends behind this statue, but the most famous is the one about Duke Godfrey III of Leuven. In 1142, the troops of this two-year-old lord were battling against the troops of the Berthouts, the lords of Grimbergen, in Ransbeke (now Neder-Over-Heembeek). The troops put the infant lord in a basket and hung the basket in a tree to encourage them. From there, the boy urinated on the troops of the Berthouts, who eventually lost the battle.

Another legend states that in the 14th century, Brussels was under siege by a foreign power. The city had held its ground for some time, so the attackers conceived of a plan to place explosive charges at the city walls. A little boy named Julianske happened to be spying on them as they were preparing. He urinated on the burning fuse and thus saved the city. There was at the time (middle of the 15th century, perhaps as early as 1388) a similar statue made of stone. The statue was stolen several times.

Another story (told often to tourists) tells of a wealthy merchant who, during a visit to the city with his family, had his beloved young son go missing. The merchant hastily formed a search party that scoured all corners of the city until the boy was found happily urinating in a small garden. The merchant, as a gift of gratitude to the locals who helped out during the search, had the fountain built.

Another legend was that a small boy went missing from his mother when shopping in the centre of the city. The woman, panic-stricken by the loss of her child, called upon everyone she came across, including the mayor of the city. A city-wide search began and when at last the child was found, he was urinating on the corner of a small street. The story was passed down over time and the statue erected as a tribute to the well-known legend.

Another legend tells of the young boy who was awoken by a fire and was able to put out the fire with his urine, in the end this helped stop the king's castle from burning down.

A young gracious Filipino lady, Diane and her friend, James Luke offered to show me around Brussels (one of the main reasons I love Belgium!) shared that we shouldn't expect any giant statue and indeed as emphasised by Wikipedia, a 61 centimeter sculpture!

The real Manneken Pis is indeed so small!... I think I might not find this place by myself!

But yes, you will find so many other Mannekin Pis around... at the waffle store, the candy store, the restaurants and everywhere!!!

My gracious guides, the Jadine (they actually introduced me to the love team!) of Brussels, but better yet, Ja-Di (for James and Diane)!!! 

This is a giant Manneken Pis! ... at the Waffle Shop...yes, Belgium is famous for their WAFFLES!

But after the Brussels bombing this March 21, 2016, the Manneken Pis is now the symbol of resilience following attacks! as written by Mary Boweman in USA Today Network.

Indeed, let the Manneken Pis be the Manneken PEACE!

I feel for Brussels and praying that none of the people I've met were hurt. I feel for those who lost their loved ones... 

I feel for all countries now with heightened alert, with the threat of terrorism again a reality!

I feel for my beloved Zamboanga City, where threats continue to hover around, whether founded or unfounded! 

Why would anyone want to hurt anybody? 

This is something I cannot understand... but as the trending goes, so do most of the people! And if we cannot understand, more so the young children!! As we adults could not even grasp the psychology of terrorism, how then can we explain this to them?

After the Zamboanga Siege of 2013, there were some who left Zamboanga City and most of them, feared for their parents and the elderly and feared for their young kids, who are most helpless in situations like this.

But, if it terror happens in the Philippines, in the Middle East, in the United States, in Paris and now in Brussels, then it means it can happen anywhere! 

I don't know the answer... 

Many say political will is necessary (in our city...in our country... as the elections are closely approaching)! 

BUT, I do know PRAYERS are needed!!!

This Holy Week 2016, let us all include in our prayers, PEACE and GOODWILL throughout the whole world!

CIUDAD MEDICAL ZAMBOANGA WINS GOLD ANVIL @ THE 51ST ANVIL AWARDS

Reblog from In Pinay's Ciudad...

The ANVIL AWARD is the most prestigious award in Public Relations, thus, dubbed the Oscar Awards for Public Relations and given only if and when the high standards set by the jury are met. These winning programs demonstrate and live the principle of public relations that is all about great performance with great results. 

We were told Ciudad Medical Zamboanga may be the only winner from MINDANAO and a GOLD ANVIL awardee at that!

ZAMBOANGA CITY, THIS IS FOR YOU! ...The GOLD ANVIL AWARD (Public Relations Program Specialized Advocacy Campaign) for the CMZ BRA (Bra to Raise Awareness) Campaign Project of CIUDAD MEDICAL ZAMBOANGA for
innovative breast cancer advocacy program in Zamboanga City.

Conferred February 26, 2016 at the Rizal Ballroom, Makati Shangrila, Philippines.

CIUDAD MEDICAL ZAMBOANGA and the CMZ BRAngay Team, this is OUR GOLD!

The larger trophy is the GOLD AWARD and the smaller trophy is the SILVER AWARD.

GOLD ANVIL AWARD TROPHY is received by Ms. Cristina Bolo (CMZ Breast Wellness Center), Dr. Filipinas Rojo (CMZ Medical Director), Atty. Jhihann Hairun-Natividad (CMZ CEO ) and Ms. Juvee Calica (CMZ HR Manager)

THE GOLD ANVIL AWARD TROPHY

This is the Congratulatory letter, Ciudad Medical Zamboanga received from the PRSP!

This is the message of the Chairman of the 51st Anvil Awards, Mr. Ron Jabal during the ANVIL Gabi Ng Parangal 2016!.

Magandang magandang gabi po sa inyo lahat.

To say I am humbled by your presence is an understatement. Speaking before more than 800 experts in Public Relations is quite a daunting task. I wish President Bong Osorio is here to share with me the stage where more than 60 companies will be honoured by the greatest recognition in PR profession. For those who do not know, President Bong Osorio is in Dubai speaking before a global conference - ably representing the brilliance in all of us - of PRSP. Thank you Bong.

And so today I, along with the outgoing and incoming Board of Directors of PRSP, welcome all of you to the 51st Anvil Awards. We have received close to 400 entries this year and more than 100 will be recognised with silvers and golds. The creme dela creme will get a Special Award while the best of the best will get Platinum trophies and the much-coveted Grand Anvil Award.

_____

In the era of instant gratification amidst a cacophony of applause from award-giving bodies that seemed to have sprouted all over in recent years, one is compelled to ask if getting an Anvil trophy - Silver and/or Gold - remains important and relevant.

Now that the Anvil Awards is on its 51st year of recognizing outstanding PR programs and tools, we dared ask if this type of accolade has already been reduced to a perfunctory or a chore.

If one views Anvil Awards as just an award for the office display cabinet which will later be a subject of a press release that hopefully will be read by the company’s target markets, then maybe an Anvil award is nothing more than a trophy - a good to have so people can see.

If one views Anvil Awards as only a recognition of our own expertise which can be a ticket for one’s ascent to the corporate ladder or a brag tool in an industry gathering which will later be a subject of a Facebook, Instagram and Twitter posts, then maybe an Anvil award is nothing more than an emblem and badge of bravado - a scarlet letter for everyone to ogle about.

There is nothing wrong with all of these. At one point in our lives we have done and continues to do these actuations.

I am sure, though, that there is more to an Anvil award than all these.

More than anything else, we need to see the Anvil Awards as a recognition and a celebration of good - that getting an Anvil award remains important and relevant in the minutiae of everyday life where time is no longer measured in hours but moments.

Getting an Anvil trophy is a recognition of excellence in creativity; of the beauty of messages; of intelligent choices in choosing what channels to deliver our messages to our stakeholders and consumers; and of the logic of measurement and evaluation.

Getting a Silver or a Gold is the triumph over lethargy; the triumph over just getting by and doing the same thing all over again; and a victory against “okay-na-yan”.

Getting an Anvil is a victory of the goodness of shared values between us and the stakeholders we engage and serve.

An Anvil Award stands for the celebration of common good.

So for those who will receive Anvil Awards, stand proud.You just do not carry a piece of wood and metal but a responsibility to always do good - the good of not just small and specialised interests but for the good of all.

Again congratulations and Mabuhay tayong lahat!


We were happy to meet new friends from the Diocese of Alaminos and their iPlant Movement Grand Launch Magazine with the Silver ANVIL Award especially Msgr. Rey and Simon and Imelda Czendlik-Bischof. We shared Table No. 19.

Mr. Jones T. Campos  (far right) with CMZ BRA Campaign  Project of Ciudad Medical Zamboanga with iPlant Movement of the Diocese of Alaminos represented by Ding Mammuad, Simon and Imelda Czendlik-Bischof , Msgr. Rey, Fr. Windell and Fr. Uly.

Congratulations to all the awardees and we hope to inspire other corporations and organizations to join in the bandwagon in the celebration of the common good!


P.S.

Thank you so much, Rameer Tawasil for sharing the BRA idea with CMZ and worked with us for our giant Installation Art, the CMZ BREAST (Bra to Raise Early Awareness for screening and Treatment)!

Thank you so much to the CMZ Breast Wellness Center and the CMZ BRAngay Team for the implementation of the CMZ BRA (Bra to Raise Awareness) Campaign Project.

HOW TO PACKAGE A WINNING ANVIL @ OCTOBER 28, 2015

Reblog from In Pinay's Ciudad...

Last October 28, 2015, I attended the "HOW TO PACKAGE A WINNING ANVIL" seminar at the Unilab Bayanihan Center.

Original schedule was October 19 and 20, 2015!

But due to inclement weather, the seminar was moved to a later date, so much closer to the deadline!

However, I was personally interested in applying for the 51st Anvil Award, but was at a loss on how to present our PR Program for this to be appreciated by the jurors.

Questions in my mind, among others, were:

"What is Anvil looking for?"

"What do they mean by RESULTS?"

"How do we present the results?"

"How much supporting documents can we present?"

... and so many more questions in our minds!

I hoped this was the seminar to open my mind more to the intricacies of the Anvil Award!

There were several attendees, mostly from high level corporations such as Megaworld, Jollibee, Sun Life Financials.  I noticed many of them are young and belonged either to the Public Relations, Marketing or Communications department of their corporations. 

When asked who believed their programs would win, I saw a lot of show of hands! I admired their passion and the belief that their programs and tools would win... They indeed had the right attitude for this Anvil Award!

I felt a bit out of place (as if I would really feel out of place!) because 1) I was a doctor... and a medical director... and not in PR nor communications; 2) I did not belong to a listed corporation, although,we are proud of our organization, Ciudad Medical Zamboanga; 3) I was the only one from Mindanao... and, I wasn't sure if someone from the Visayas was among the audience!

When asked by Sir Jones T. Campos, "Who thinks they won't win?", I raised my hand, but only because I wanted to ask some questions.

And my first question was, "Can a smaller company and from Mindanao (Zamboanga City specifically) at that, compete with the huge corporations who have all the resources, the budget (in Millions!) and the communications arm or the support of great Public Relations companies, EVER WIN?

And the answer I was given was, YES! Deciding if you are worthy of the Anvil depends on the organization's own Objectives, Methods and Results of their programs and their documentation, as well as the significance and impact of the programs or tools.

Brilliant mentors, Mr. Jones T. Campos and Mr. Ron Jabal shared their pearls on how to package the "Winning Anvil" and "Excellence of Public Relations in the era of disruption!"

They also shared several examples of previous winners such as the "Tulong Na, Tabang na" of ABS-CBN, which won the Grand Anvil of the 50th Anvil  Award. Other programs which I was interested in were the Metrobank Foundation's MADE 2014 Project HeART (Art for Humanity), which showed impressive documentation and Avon's Do Something Beautiful Campaign, since this had a similar advocacy on breast cancer awareness.

From these  samples, I found out that I had to compute for Media Value and PR value, which I then had to research on, and indeed something very new to me!

So, we had to proceed with the writing with the new knowledge that had to be injected to the data that we had, which we had to complete in the next three weeks!

The Anvil results were relayed after two months, and we, in Ciudad Medical Zamboanga were so overjoyed that our project, the CMZ B.R.A. (Bra to Raise Awareness) Campaign Project won the GOLD ANVIL AWARD for Public Relations Programs: Specialized Advocacy Campaign for the innovative breast cancer advocacy program in Zamboanga City.

And so I again say, Thanks a million to these two Public Relation greats, and those like them (Norman Agatep), who continue to teach and inspire PR neophytes in our quest for improvement of our communication skills... in our journey to always go way beyond mediocrity... in our goal to achieve excellence in creativity and the victory of good (to borrow these phrases from Sir Ron Jabal).

Here is an excerpt of the Address of Chairman of the 51st Anvil Awards, Mr. Ron Jabal APR during the 51st Anvil Awards Gabi Ng Parangal.

We were told CMZ is the only Awardee from Mindanao and a Gold Award at that.... But PRSP would like to invite more organizations from outside of Mega Manila especially Visayas and Mindanao with dynamic initiatives and programs to vie for the 52nd Anvil Award this year and be recognized for your noble efforts!!!

Watch out for this by September or October 2016....