Winning scenes from Balikatan

MANILA, Philippines – Four seasoned photojournalists of The STAR reaped honors in the recently concluded RP-US Balikatan ’09 Photo Competition.

Jonjon Vicencio won second place in the news category, while James Mananghaya, who is also STAR’s defense reporter, got third.

Vicencio also received a special award for submitting a black and white entry.

Edd Gumban and Andy Zapata got third place in the human interest and history categories, respectively.

They received trophies and cash prizes, which were awarded by top US and Filipino military officials and US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney.

The history category highlighted the significant Balikatan events in the previous years that emphasized the strength of the bilateral relationship between the Philippines and the United States.

Photos in the news category, on the other hand, featured the different field training exercises conducted under the Balikatan.

The human interest category highlighted stories that show how lives were influenced, changed, and improved by the Balikatan exercises.

The first-ever Exercise Balikatan 2009 Photo Contest was a project organized by the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Public Affairs Office in coordination with Lente Images Philippines, Inc. – James Managhaya