Consul General Aragon Inducts PPP-USA Officers into Office

By Johnny M. Pecayo
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, MANILA-U.S. TIMES
www.manilaustimes.org



CARSON, CA -- Consul General Mary Jo Bernardo Aragon of the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles inducted into office Friday, January 24, the new set of officers of the Press Photographers Philippines-U.S.A. (PPP-USA), led by Dan Baltazar, president, 2008-2010.

The event was a double celebration, being the 12th anniversary ball of PPP-USA.

Officers:

Inducted along with Dan Baltazar, were: Sid Guerrero, chairman of the board; Ding Carreon, first vice president; Bobby Saddul, second vice president; Irwin Jazmines, secretary; Bobby Crisostomo, treasurer; Noel Ty, asst. treasurer; Anthony Castillo, auditor; Noli Yu, asst. auditor; Jay Fermin, Jimmy Presto, Emy Bernaldo, Ricky Morales and Jim Hernandez, public relations officers; and Mylah de Leon, publicist. Larry Pelayo, parliamentarian, did not attend the induction rites.

Dean Guerrero, ESQ, is the designated legal adviser. Susan Barlin, Ben Basilio, Thelma Calabio, Gigi Garcia, Nora Guerrero and Lucila Hernandez are the advisers.

The installation of officers was memorable due to a huge turn out of guests that filled the Dominguez Hall of the Carson Civic Center here.

Josh Andowitt, publicist of GMA-7, hosted the event, along with Ranella Ferrer.

Entertainment:

The induction proper was preceded by a couple of song numbers rendered by local talent Joseph Gelito, who spiced up the evening cracking some jokes to the audience's delight.

CONSUL GENERAL Aragon (back to camera) inducts into office the PPP-USA Officers for 2008-2010, led by its president, Dan Baltazar (5th from left), along with Irwin Jazmines, Bobby Saddul, Ding Carreon, Mylah de Leon, Sid Guerrero, Bobby Crisostomo, Noli Yu, Anthony Castillo, Jim Hernandez, Ricky Morales, Jimmy Presto, Emy Bernaldo and Jay Fermin. -- MUST PHOTO

SECOND shot of the Induction of Officers.

CONSUL GENERAL Mary Jo Bernardo Aragon, smiling, congratulates the newly inducted officers of PPP-USA. -- MANILA-U.S. TIMES' (MUST) photo

A new rising male recording artist, Sean Collado, rendered beautiful song numbers, including a Tagalong song, popularized by Martin Nievera.

Acknowledgement:

Consul General acknowledged the importance of the photographers' role in media and the community, saying that a story is incomplete without the support of a good photograph.

THE EMCEES -- Josh Andowitt and Ranella Ferrer -- with Consul General Aragon. - MUST PHOTO

Dan Baltazar, newly-inducted president, known to be a man of few words, came up onstage with cajoling by emcee Josh Andowitt and, when he was finally standing infront of the podium delivered a brief message, thanking everyone for coming up to join the event, "which we consider as your show of support to our organization."

Sid Guerrero, Chairman of PPP-USA, delivered welcome remarks, acknowledging the presence of some VIPs in the audience, while Josh also acknowledged the members of the press present.

A special dance number was performed by Queenie Rodil, Miss Young Philippines Global 2008, interspersed with song numbers by Sean Collado.

A SPECIAL presentation by Queenie Rodil, Miss Young Philippines Global 2008. -- MUST PHOTO

Dance lovers could not wait for their turn to hit the dance floor and soon enough, the dance floor was filled with guests dancing to the tune of danceable music, provided by the Midnight Motion Band, led by Willie Manacsa.

Publicist Mylah de Leon, editor-in-chief of the Philippine Times, aptly calls them "The Clickers," describing further that "photojournalists are fantasists, conjurers, seers ... discovering through the marvelous globe of the human eye ... they find moments of surprise, acts of self-creation, hints of the surreal, convention bursting photo narratives that are total and absolute."

If I may add my own, "photojournalists are team partners of the publishers and editors, as the latter cannot do without them. They make people happy by simply taking snapshots of them. They are creative and subscribe to the adage -- 'Photos speak a thousand words, especially when a shot is excellently executed and engineered to the satisfaction of the person photographed.'"

"No staff box of any publication exists without the name or names of the publisher's favorite photographers."

Bobby M. Cuizon, Managing Director of RCBC California International, Inc., and Edgar C. Bulawan, Operations Manager, RCBC, expressed their full support to PPP-USA with sponsorship funds. Such support was truly appreciated by PPP-USA.