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HEAR US ROAR: THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS HONORS MANILA UP!

Wednesday January 1, 2020

GLASS HALF FIL
By Naiia Lajoie

As this is the first edition of this century’s “Roaring Twenties”, Manila Up! would like to roar with pride at the accolades received by the multiple Manila Up! staff members during our 4th Anniversary soiree. ‘Twas an event to be had; the evening took place at the Hotel Constance in Pasadena last month and was heavily attended by those in the fashion & entertainment industrifes. There was quite literally royalty present – the event was emceed by none other than Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe (a European Royal through his German-Danish adoptive father) with several pageant titleholders and beauty queens in tow.

The program consisted of a slide show, fashion show, singing and dancing performances, all watched by celebrities such as Pol’ Atteu & Patrik Simpson, former cover girls including Krystal von Seyfried, Elna Villaflor, Danielle Viray, Emmy von Seyfried, Aurora Belderol, Corazon Ugalde Armenta, Alyssa Guevara, Bichlien Nguyen & Kayla Sosin, and Manila Up! even had the pleasure of hosting a few of Los Angeles’ Fil-Am politicians. Miguel Sangalang (Deputy Mayor for Budget & Innovation for LA Mayor Eric Garcetti) was present with his dapperly dressed son, as was Jessica Caloza (a Commissioner on the Board of Public Works in the City of Los Angeles). Unbeknownst to Manila Up! publisher Sonia Bermejo, they were there for good reason aside from partaking in the festivities.

The aforementioned prestigious members of the Filipino-American community bestowed many a Christmas cheer in the form of Certificates of Recognition to multiple staffers. CELIA S. ABUEL received recognition as our Social Media Photographer, GRACE AGUILAR as Correspondent/Writer, EDITHA Y. PENDLETON as our Editor in Hawaii, BECKY GARCIA & MAYENNE CARMONA as International Columnists both based in the Philippines, LUIS SINGSON a Philanthropist also based in the Philippines, JOE GARCIA & JAMES GIOVANNI PAN as our local Photographers, JOPHEL HUFFMAN as our Photographer in San Diego, as well as GILDA PINEDA DIONELA – our International Writer in London.

The gift giving did not cease there, as more International Writers like MARICEL DIAZ based in Thailand, JHOANNA DE GUZMAN based in the Philippines, and MELODY GARCIA based in Florida also received the honor. At this point, I can humbly add that I too was a recipient of an honor, even after only having written for the magazine just over a year now. I, NAIIA LAJOIE, was recognized as a Journalist – after being one of three nominees for “Best Columnist” during the LA Press Club’s SoCal Journalism Awards, winning Outstanding International Journalist at the Gawad Amerika Awards, and now this – to say that I am speechless would be an understatement. The award sharing concluded with two final certificates received by Sonia herself; for Publisher/Executive Editor to SONIA BERMEJO, and MANILA UP! MAGAZINE honored for accomplishing four years of print work.

Print-based journalism shifted to electronic media in the 1920s. Sensationalism was rampant and people were excited to “read all about it”. After having ended 2019 with a bang, it is safe to say that we here at Manila Up! promise to keep our fact-checking inquisitiveness flapping and our keyboard fingers tapping to ensure you receive the most compelling news in the new year. Stay tuned! And thanks for reading.