(Jeddah, 06 September 2016) - The Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led by Consul General Imelda M Panolong, joined the Filipino communities in celebrating the Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa (National Language Month) with a day of song and speech competitions.
Following a hugely successful kick-off season last year, the Filipino Artiste Migrants Ensemble (FAME), Jeddah’s premier events and talent search organization, and the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah have once again collaborated to stage an all-Filipino musical talent competition dubbed as “Kanta Filipinas Himig OPM Season 2”, held at the Consulate premises on 12 August 2016. The event was attended by around 300 guests including officials and some personnel of the Consulate, finalists, performers, media, leaders of the Filipino communities and other distinguished guests.
“National language symbolizes the identity of people coming from one race, one nation. A national language is a way to unite people, to communicate and understand each other properly, and to avoid misunderstanding. Although Philippines has a lot of dialects and it even has major languages within our country, Filipino people from Batanes to Jolo, still understand each other because of our national language, which is Filipino,” said Consul General Imelda M. Panolong during her remarks. She also wished all the contenders good luck in their performances, and urged everyone to enjoy the night celebrating Filipino talents and culture.
FAME conducted an audition on 10 June 2016 and selected 15 Kanta Filipinas Grand Finalists, with a remarkable pool of undisputed Filipino talents from all over Jeddah, the Western Region and contenders coming from Riyadh and Al-Khobar.
During the Finals Night, top five (5) contenders were chosen to proceed to the final round, namely LJay Laquinon, Jerry Hubahib, Randy Rubio, Raniel Lindo and Coco Estrellan. At the end, Mr. Randy Rubio bagged the champion award for his rendition of “Wag Ka Nang Umiyak”, an OPM song popularized by Gary Valenciano. Messrs. Raniel David Lindo and Coco Estrellan got the 1st and 2nd places respectively. Aside from the song contest, the program also included a parade of Filipiniana dresses with unique and beautiful designs made by talented Filipino workers based in Jeddah.
On 26 August 2016, the Kapisanan ng mga Mananalumpating Filipino (KaMFi), Toastmasters International and OFW Cooperative Council (OFWCC), in collaboration with the Consulate General, organized a speech competition (Patimpalak ng Talumpating Handa at Hindi Handa) as part of the Buwan ng Wika celebration with the theme, “Filipino, Wika ng Karunungan”. The event which was held at the Consulate Hall, was participated in by the members of the Filipino community in Jeddah. Vice Consul Alexander Joseph Estomo, who was invited as the Guest of Honor, awarded the prizes and certificates to the champions namely Messrs. Samir Asim (Talumpating Hindi Handa) and Wisley Rait (Talumpating Handa). Ms. Delia Catague and Mr. Emmanuel Eguia (1st and 2nd runners up for Talumpating Hindi Handa, respectively) also received certificates.
The speech contest was followed by a lecture on Financial Literacy for interested OFWs. Ms. Evangeline Malli-Pungutan, Trade and Investment Assistant, PH Trade and Investment Center, was invited to give an inspirational message. END.
