Rafi declares blogging contest winners of Gabii sa Kabilin

CEBU, Philippines - The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) announced the winners of the first Gabii sa Kabilin blogging contest last June 8.

The first prize was awarded to Stanley Cabigas' blog entry "How I discovered Pilita Corrales in Cebu" in his blog site www.langyaw.com. Cabigas shared his experience visiting for the first time the Jose R. Gullas Halad Museum.

The second placer is Maria Rowena Getutua of www.mawen-thoughtscraps.blogspot.com with her blog entry "Are you Cebuano Enough?" which featured the museums that she had gone to during the Gabii sa Kabilin.

Finishing third is Vernon Joseph Go of www.vernongo.com with "Proud Past: Land Of Kings & Heroes". Go delved into the link between pride of heritage and nation building.

The first prize winner received Php 3,000; second prize, Php 2,000; and third prize P1,000. Each winner will also be given a certificate and a one-year web hosting by Earl Pablo, one of the judges and owner of a web hosting provider.

The blogging contest was open to all the sixth Gabii sa Kabilin participants, who were encouraged to blog about their experience during the event.

The panel of judges is composed of Earl Pablo, owner of a web hosting provider and runs a 30-day blogging challenge; John Silva, executive director of Ortigas Foundation and a published author and blogger; and Marlen del Mar-Limpag, co-founder of InnoPub Media, a company involved in e-book production and data tagging of heritage and tourism sites in the Philippines through QR or quick response codes, and writer of Business World and Yahoo! Philippines.

Gabii sa Kabilin, inspired by the Long Night of Museums in Germany and other European countries, aims to encourage the public to visit museums and understand their position as a venue for cultural understanding. Its sixth run, which gathered 22 museums and heritage sites, was organized by RAFI through its Culture and Heritage unit and partners last May 25.