BONTOC, Mountain Province – The Provincial Government conducted the first ever inter-department Cordillera Hymn Challenge as the closing activity of the Civil Service month-long celebration at the Capitol Quadrangle on September 28, 2017.
As a means of encouraging the internalization of the hymn among government employees, Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr. enjoined the participation of all the offices in a choral competition, thus, turning the event as a medley of voices in cognizance of the essence of the Cordillera Hymn.
Provincial Human Resource Management Officer (PHRMO) Leonila Milagrose F. Malla-ao acknowledged that all the groups enjoyed their performances in the competition invigorating the employees during their rehearsals.
Dubbed as a provincial-family activity, the competition involved 14 clusters from the 28 departments but in the end, only 13 competed as participants from the Paracelis District Hospital failed to attend the activity.
The Provincial Engineer and Motorpool Office cluster emerged as champion in the competition. The Provincial Assessor’s and Provincial Accountant’s Offices’ cluster came in second while the Provincial Security Office made it to the third place.
The prizes amounting to P 33,000 were sponsored by the provincial government as a means of acknowledging the efforts of the participants, organizers and other helping committees.
Overwhelmed by the performances, some provincial government authorities shelled out some amount for the additional prizes to all group participants and as incentives to key players who helped make the event a success. For instance, Gov. Lacwasan gave the amount of P 21, 000 in appreciation and in support to the said activity while some department heads readily gave theirs in various amounts. P 15,000 was awarded to the first place, P 10,000 for the second place, and P 7, 000 for the third place and the remaining ten groups received P 2,000 each as consolation prize.
Based on the activity mechanics, the participating groups must have at least 15 or more members, must sing the Cordillera Hymn in acapella, and must have a warm up song. The criteria for judging are as follows: tone quality is 30%, musicianship is 30%, and mastery of piece is 30%, and costume and stage presence is 10% for a total of 100 percent.
Earlier this year, it was observed that few department heads and most provincial government staff were not familiar with the hymn. Consequently, Provincial Administrator Amador P. Batay-an enjoined that the hymn be sung during the first Monday program of the month.
“We are Cordillerans. It is but proper that we should not only be aware that we have a regional hymn but we should also know it by heart,” Batay-an said.
In support of the abovementioned initiative, Gov Lacwasan through the PHRMO, issued a memorandum directing the inclusion of the Cordillera Hymn Challenge as part of the 117th Philippine Civil Service Anniversary Celebration as an avenue through which the hymn can be internalized.
The music and lyrics of the Cordillera hymn were composed by Julia Saganib and Juanita Madarang, respectively.
By Rose D. Dagupen
By HENT
