Online newsletter for the citizens of Sagunto, Sison, Pangasinan, Philippines
On an evening blanketed by heavenly stars, balikbayans, distinguished guests and citizens of Sison were treated to a memorable evening; a prelude of what’s to come on this day of the Sison Town Fiesta. Here is an account of that evening on December 11, 2007 by Sagunto Kagawad, Loejan Anudon. Photos will follow later.
“AN ENCHANTED EVENING WITH THE HONORABLE CONGRESSMAN AND MAYOR KIMI”
Mayor Kimi and Congressman Mark Cojuangco hosted a gala dinner at their residence in Labayug last night. Honored guests were all the Sisonian balikbayans and a dazzling array of dignitaries and citizens, who were treated not only to the splendid panoramic view of the town of Sison from the Cojuangco residence but also to an elegant and joyous evening.
Under the cover of stars and trees with the cool soft evening breeze blowing, the beautiful voices of Aries Ayupan, Amerson Malqued and a friend filled the air. Mr. Willy Palitang lent his virtuosity on the keyboard and contributed to making the evening even more memorable; creating the perfect ambiance for this magical night.
A veritable feast was served of which the accompanying Koala Shiraz wine was most appreciated especially by the balikbayans. Her Majesty, Queen Lola Tessie Alboukharey, stood and proudly exclaimed to all the guests that evening that the Koala wine is the best in London because of its excellent quality and it is Philippine owned. The Honorable Congressman further added that the wine came from his father’s vineyard and is recently a golden award achiever (worldwide) so now it is called Koala Gold. Great wine, sumptuous food, interesting conversations and delightful company filled the evening.
The Ang Lola Kong Reyna court was in attendance and graced the event with their beauty and wisdom. The exquisite Lola Tessi Alboukharey, the queen, especially thanked her London sponsors and everyone who helped to put her on the highest pedestal. Her Highness, 2nd Princess Lola Irene Florendo, rose to thank all her sponsors and also the Congressman and the Mayor for inviting them. She spoke of her willingness to support, within her capability, the Honorable Mayor in all her undertakings for the betterment of Sison. Her Highness, 1st Princess Lola Nena Burgonio also thanked her supporters and charmed everyone with her usual jolly personality.
As the evening progressed, the Sagunto guests, well known for being a fun loving bunch, turned the evening into a truly festive event. The music reached its crescendo when everyone, accompanied by Mr. Willy Palitang, filled the air with Christmas carols. One of the highlights of the evening, which turned an already jubilant event practically euphoric, was when Mr. Billy Bongog, a Sagunto balikbayan from London, sang his favorite tune that lured everyone to dance including the honorable couple. The hosts, Mayor Kimi and Congressman Cojuangco, gamely joined in the singing and dancing to the delight of their guests.
What an experience! Thank you to the Honorable Congressman and the Honorable Mayor for indulging the partying Saguntonians for as long and as late as their energies allowed. It was truly an unforgettable evening under the stars. Feliz Navidad!
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Sounds like so much fun! Wish I could’ve been there…we’ll wait for photos. Thanks again, Loejan, for your reporting. Hay, kasla kam met nga nakiatendar ti party da Congressman and Mayor. What an honor for all the balikbayans… Innak man met ngarud padasen dayta Koala Gold nga kunkunayo
Amazing! The report was concise statement, largely to picture out the brilliant event much to give us an overview, as we were not around to sing,dance and enjoy the party with the newly crowned Her Royal Highness Queen Tessie Alboukharey together with the dashing town Mayor Madam Kimi and CONG. Cojuangco. The seemingly surprise is that Mr. Billy ” D KID” Bongog had dislodge his ever kept secret voice to the delight of everyone, thus, BRING their feet on the dance floor..Was that a GO JOHNNY GO GO..JOHNY BE GOOD.. song? clever uncle
Billy will crave for more appearance on the stage just add vodka on his table and surely it will be a wonderful evening to remember..Bravo!!! .
Yah you are right Bot am so curious about that kind of Drink too tho am not into that kind of stuff ginger ale is fine for me yahahahha! hahahha!
Lucky enough for us to be informed the overview of what is happening in our town.
Am always checking the picture/ video or anything as we know that those speaks in our wildest imagination.
Wow, that was a great news. Can’t wait to see all the pictures during the event. Wish I was there too.. Oh well, better work hard to save for the next event…. heheheeheh.
Nagmayaten,sapay coma ta maulit manen ti castoy nga occation, can’t wait to see the pictures.Talaga nga saludo ak to all the participants that made this gala evening a very memorable one. merry christmas and a very prosperous new year to all.
Hi Mngs. Lynne & Ed! First time ko makita kayo ditoy abong ah
I know, they all deserve to be feted for giving the town their full support. Am sure that next year’s contest will be just as fun. I was looking for the Koala Gold wine here in Los Angeles so I could taste the award winning Shiraz, alas, I’ll have to wait until I get to Australia to taste…they don’t sell it here 
yeah, i missed that evening, SIGH. i must still be flying overhead that labayug mountain while they were feasting. when i arrived that dawn, everyone was dead tired and snoring due to koala drink. but boy, i loved that red wine. i got to have some sips finally at the coronation night…tastes mild but helped me clear my throat so i could keep instructing the kiddy escorts and flower girls of the royal queen. but i warn you, that koala drink may make your feet incontrollable taking over the floor to kick some chacha. could also make the royals blurt out infectious laughs bwahahaha! i have lots more to share when i get sober
HELLO BABOT, i know I SHOULD HAVE JOINED LONG TIME ITS SO EXCITING TO READ ALL THE COMMENTS OF EVERYONE.I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU ALL WHO SPONSORED THE SAGUNTO STAR.GOD BLESS .
So the Town Fiesta ’07 is over we are all waiting for the updates and lots of Pix to be shared but I know you are all tired and needs to rest a bit since Christmas Celebration is here again then most of the Barangays like Sagunto and Agat are celebrating the Annual fiesta between Christmas and New Year.
May the Real Essence of Christmas be in our hearts no matter what if possible stay away from commercialized christmas celebration always remember the humbleness of Jesus on the first Christmas day.
Waaahhh…Sis Emz, you missed the big dinner?! Oh well, at least you tasted the award winning wine
Boy, that was a real whirlwind trip for you, huh?
Mng. Lynne, makapa-addict ti Sagunto Star anya?
You’re right sis Evz, we all have to remember whose real birthday we celebrate on Christmas….the big JC himself. Happy Birthday, Lord.
A minor thing really but it is quite indicative of the society in which we now live in. We are significantly more interconnected than at any time in history and we’re moving much faster than we ever were.Email has crossed the threshold of network effects and reliability allowing us to converse readily with people anywhere, anytime. Likewise, with 75% of the Philippines population have a mobile phone and nationwide mobile phone coverage, you can get in touch with someone wherever they are. In the few instances when you can’t reach someone, there’s always voice mail and text messaging.
It’s the same thing with news coverage. Across a newspaper stand and or tungtung balatong that the news “must be hours out date”. It’s amazing that to a large extent, we can empathize with the sentiment as via Sagunto Star(chatango-abong) we can check and read multiple sources of news and information within minutes it being posted. Wherever a major event happens like our Sison town fiesta, we can flick on to a site and get live coverage as it happens. Even when you’re at the epicenter of the event, you’re not out of the loop when it comes to news coverage.Its strange thing to say but quick and easy access to information is addictive. It is truly addictive; we become used to having information at our fingertips. We become used to doing things quickly. And as it bad as it sounds, I wouldn’t really want it to be any other way. Here, I can be proud of my cultural heritage, proud of my ancestry, proud of my native language, and very proud Saguntonian
This event has been so meaningful. It’s hard to put that emotion into words. This is something to talk and remember, fun and festive, but above all, it’s our town and barangay handing down a cherished celebration of heritage and season to the next generation, teaching them to honour tradition in a world that turns on change.
For the overall committees (here and abroad) of this event, the amount of time we prepared for only few months, say 3 months? , thought, creativity, cooperation and expertise that was put into an occasion was guaranteed and succeed. Big WOW!!!
Have a pleasant Christmas and Happy New Year to all.
Mng. Emz
Hurry up to spread the news l just couldn’t wait. Keep drinking water to get rid of the alcohol fom your system. Or still in the koala spirit mood. Or else ma over ti chacha-m dita. Imbag koma no napuskol diay high heel mo ta narigat nga marunot. It’s really nice feeling and full of excitement.
Take care, and stay online,
abangan ang susunod na kabanata…
babot… had aunt told me the program schedule, i could have tried to come at least a few hours earlier. too sad for her, she didn’t have drink mates and so she drank koala all by herself…you could imagine what speech she delivered after that.
they were looking for her entourage but it’s just aunt flora around. but hey, next year when YOU decide to join the 2008 contest, don’t forget to add me to the list of BUYOT drunkards and family. Jay and I are coming to dance swing.
you may now upload the pictures sent by Rolly coz i’m not sure if i could connect these cables now to upload the rest of the pics. just don’t add my posing for my snatched trophy
hehehe, i could have borrowed her crown too, but when i said bye to her, she was still on the stage for pictorials. yes, such a whirlwind travel. i could not believe i could travel that fast in just battings of an eyelash; isang malikmata. but i was there to show support for the clan/ family. you should have seen that pepsitruck-full of buyot wearing UK tshirts. vice mayor was so amazed at the support Lola Tessie’s family gives. OK, i’ll sit longer later to give a few wacky details…while the koala effect still lingers.haha will they ever flood our sagunto2008 homecoming with koala too? ang dami ko nang plugging ng koala drink dito ah. sige kain muna ko ng igado nangisit nga baboy balon aggapot pinas.
Hahaha, Romelia, easy ka lang dyan, eto na installment report, i’m typing a few in between coffee breaks ta nagado met pinanawak nga trabaho. Nette will upload some pics soon. Meantime, while there’s no article for the Cultural night Dec. 15, i will give you a sneak preview.
That Saturday, the queen must still have this hangover fromthe Labayug party held last Friday so her ladies-in-waiting (just arrived me and Mng Edna Custodio) and the Queen just hang around the audience bleachers to watch the numerous Cultural dances performed by the teachers, students and the Sison administration staff (you couldn’t believe it, even Mrs Manangan the treasurer) wowed everyone with their graceful moves and steps. Kulang na lang konting ensayo pwede na sa Folk Arts Theater ang mga talents natin really. You could never get prouder of your roots! You could see in the mayor’s face how fascinated she was that night. Now you know Madam Mayor, we have a bunch of multi-talented people in your ranch.The indigineous tribes presentation was supervised by Mr. Carganilla who was able to gather all the Bago Tribe scholars to perform with the NCIP staff. That, i was able to record in full. Low batt na videocam ko, sorry. As usual, the VIPs and princesses were at the center tables drinking another round of koala. Medyo nagpabeauty muna ang star for Sunday night, kaya nasa likuran lang kami, at ako naman medyo nagvideo lang ng selected dances. Syempre pa, narecord ko rin yung special speech ni Honorable Congressman Cojuangco. Tsaka na natin i dissect in detail pag serious na usapan, haha. They have lots of plans for Sison. Meantime, eto munang koala effect. Cute nga talaga si Cong. Mark Cojuangco, pero diko nakita ng close-up. Si Vice Mayor tyak masasabi ko, cute talaga! Hehehe, koala!
That was so eloquently written and expressed Romelia. Yes, you are so right about technology making our world and our people that much more connected. It really makes me happy that we have this site to gather information about each other, connect with the people we all know and love that are still in the Philippines and others around the globe.
We are equally fortunate to have the kind of Mayor who is willing to listen to concerns of her OFW constituents AND include us in the affairs of the town which we all care for. The Mayor’s openness, honesty and sincerity from the time of her election, to date, has been unequivocal and we’ve responded by supporting her projects, vision and dreams for our town. Thank you, Mayor Kimi Cojuangco for helping to energize the people, the barangays and the town. Thanks also to Congressman Mark Cojuangco for his support in these endeavors. As we enter into the New Year, there is a sense of optimism and new energy for change. This is, indeed, a Season for Sison! Bravo!
Merry Christmas and and a Wonderful New Year!
That was the last class for the day so now, I have more time Romelia to share to you how much I enjoyed with that very short stay. I’m typing a few more bits and pieces of the Saturday event. The Cultural night was indeed a showcase of the various cultures we have in Sison, from the indigenous tribes, to the migrant settlers, all shown through dances. There were Southern and Ilocandia dances, Spanish dances etc. Manang Edna kept whispering to me to focus the camera to their costumes so your SFAL group could copy the design for your future performances there too. I saw Lita De Salva at the VIP area sipping the red wine too. Hello Lita, next time hindi lang beso-beso, magparty tayo next year!!!!
Sunday Morning Parade, Dec 16
I could not really wake up that early for the 7 AM assembly but luckily, the big Pepsi truck we decorated till dawn as chearers’ float patiently waited for me. There at the Poblacion where the floats of the Queen and princesses gathered magnified by their magestic floral trimmings we hundreds of school children doing street dancing. It’s like a Rio De Janeiro Street Samba! Of course the ati-atihan gangs heightened the excitement with their fast musical beats that could make everyone jump and skip like young children once again. The mardigras group had brightly-colored costumes adding shines and cheers for the day…my American friends who accidentally got stuck in the 1-hour traffic on their way to Ilocos found me sweating on the truck-full of suporters and relatives wearing UK tshirts so I had some guys to chat and shake with along the vibrant streets. They said that they had been wishing to find a celebration like this and they found it right there in the streets of Sison!!! WOW, PWEDE NA PALA TAYONG MAG ENTERTAIN LIKE BAGUIO CITY street celebrations. Madam Mayor, we should post this event at the national tourism homepage next time. Your charm being the head and leader of the parade gave magic to the success of the event! Oh, you should see all the parade floats! Ginastusan ng four figures each float, mind you! Kaya, huwag nyo nang asahan may natira pa sa komisyon ng mga kandidata, waaaah!
ooops, correction, five figures pala cost of just the package float and 2 awesome gowns (i think 48,000 pesos). The intricately emroidered train of the queen was a big puzzle for the mayor asking “just how many hours was spent making the complicated design of the train”.
Imagine how classy and well sewn the costume of each student parading and dancing with the lowest budget being 100pesos (I heard). The fiesta was a special event for everyone! So when was the last time you participated in the Fiesta? I remember 1973 as my most recent before this year’s. So see how special this year’s Fiesta is for me. What is sad is that, the agricultural showcase of Sagunto products I expected to see did not materialize. When I was young, Sagunto won several times in the Agri-contest. Where are all the biggest karabasa, buga, ken pipino nga ikarkarit da? Where were all our farmers during the agri-booths presentation? Babot, let’s go home and to use your tractor. I thought I’ve sent your tractor’s pic. Nasan na ba yon? I tried to send good seeds from Japan but the crops’ needs didn’t match our town’s conditions. I think our agri-farmers need more skills training and technology to be the best in town. Let’s aim for that next year.
Another ooops…i received an email from the farmers’ rep saying that the invitation for an agri-showcase didn’t reach them (but could have been received by the barrio?). they were disappointed as well, but anyway, there’ll be future chances to come. As for Sagunto participants at the Saturday cultural night, around 5 Saguntonians joined the tribal group, assisted by our chieftain Wag-e.
The Sunday morning parade was a big day for our elementary and high schoolers shaking their energies to native dances. It was not so sunny so great time to do street dancing. Gosh, they’re all very talented. Ganito lang pala kailangan eh. Palagay ko hindi nga takot sa mayor, kundi gusto nilang i-prove na magaling ang mga Sisonians. GoGoGo!
Hello, Balikbayans, better go home before the Town fiesta next year to join the parade and street dancing, good stress therapy.
The parade had the motorcycle-riding men in black as the first rank, blowing their sirens to signal the coming of the special parade. The first float was the Mayor’s and party, so radiant with the Mayor’s smiles and pale complexion against the dark-skinned entourage, hehehe. See, we don’t need any celebrity indeed to grace our celebrations. The mother Mayor was there herself to complete the glitters. But after her float came the more dashing accolades of gay fashion manifested through the well-dressed awesome princesses and queen with their expensive high-class floats. Hey, the third sex is making good business during fiesta season! The sad news is…the third princess’ husband suddenly passed away, so she begged to be exempted from the festivities. Our condolences to the Garcia family. It was just a sad unexpected moment for the family.
I couldn’t believe it! But the two princesses Lola Burgonio and Lola Irene Malqued Florendo were like Amalia Fuentes and Charito Solis. And of course, the Queen Tessie Castillo Alboukharey was another star, a Susan Roces! Thanks to Kagawad Nicole who requested that the floats reach Sagunto, it being the origin of the two winners Lola Tessie and Lola Irene. Great for our fellow Saguntonians! Congrats all! Unfortunately, the truck of UK flag waving supporters in UK t-shirts was stuck in the midst of the street revelers so it didn’t tail the Queen’s float towards Sagunto. But don’t fret, banners bearing SFAL officers and committees behind the UK candidate’s effort were shown around town! Once again congrats to SFAL , friends and relatives for supporting the UK candidate. (Hello, Apo Digay, Kulang pa po bigay nyo. Ang laki ng expenses. Namomroblema Aunt Tess and Aunt Edna nung iwan ko).
Okay, later, Coronation night naman ang news-feature ko. (Hello Nette, paki proofread mo nalang obvious errors ko pls: were/to)
Oh my Condolences to Mrs. Garcia of Esperanza !!!
Thanks for the Info Emz Good for you adda pay la nagyanam diay eroplano di nagawid ka enjoy then am looking for you adda ka met gayam ditan promoting the koala drink Hon. Danding Cojuangco awe you for that hehehe!
i’m looking for artacho’s is there any in sison pangasinan i’m from manila
Hello Jose Mari we Have Artacho here in Sison but one of the Barangay and one Street in Pozzorubio Town but haven’t heard of a Family name such as Artacho.