Manila meet to feature winning East Asian photos

July 23, 2009

Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) will exhibit during the East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress in Manila this November winning entries from the regional photo contest it conducted with computer manufacturer Hewlett Packard (HP) Philippines.

This will help generate awareness and interest in protecting the marine environment, as PEMSEA Executive Director Raphael Lotilla said the contest's entries captured action and initiatives in the East Asian region's sustainable coastal and ocean protection, development and management.

Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam and the Philippines comprise this region.

Exhibiting the entries will also complement the thrust of the EAS Congress which PEMSEA will spearhead with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

This congress is a triennial event first held in 2003 to help boost capacity-building, strategic action and cooperation for sustainable development in East Asian seas.

Philippine entries stood out in the regional photo contest which PEMSEA conducted in connection with the EAS Congress.

PEMSEA reported the contest judges chose Rogie Eloise Abala's entry 'Seaweed Planting' as grand prize winner in the youth category.

This entry depicts seaweed farming as an alternative livelihood source for fisherfolk and their families.

Philippine entries 'Child' by Romel Odion (youth category), 'Dried Fish at the Shore' by Edilberto Magpayo (hobbyist category) and 'Bakawan' by Al Linsangan (professional category) also emerged as the contest's top online picks.

These three entries received the most number of votes made through the Internet, PEMSEA said.

Aside from Abala, the contests' two other grand prize winners are Tan Ee Long and Ee Cheng Lee who are both from Malaysia.

The former won grand prize in the professional category for his entry 'People and Birds Living Together in Peace' showing inter-dependence between man and nature.

Judges declared the latter as grand prize winner in the hobbyist category for his untitled entry which PEMSEA described as capturing "amazing details of a clean, serene river" and showing a woman collecting floating soda cans there.

All three grand prize winners will be rewarded all-expense paid trips so they can attend the EAS Congress in Manila. They will also receive HP printers.

The three top online entries will likewise receive special awards, PEMSEA said.

World Wildlife Fund's Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute's Dr. Gil Jacinto, EARTH Institute's Dr. Cora Claudio and HP Philippines General Manager Jenny Sotto-Siquioco comprised the contest's panel of judges.

These judges are respected environment photography enthusiasts, PEMSEA noted.

Criteria for judging were relevance to the contest theme (35 percent), composition and creativity (35 percent) as well as clarity and technical quality (30 percent).

PEMSEA reported receiving over 500 entries of 187 photographers from East Asian nations.

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