Citizen Watches opened its first mono store in Cebu at the upper level of the North Wing at SM City Cebu. Since 1918, Citizen has been a front-runner in Japan’s watch industry, pioneering in timepiece technology.
The latest innovation is the eco-drive technology, where watches are powered by any light source—no need for batteries.
As it was, to formally open the store there was a “power by light” ceremony using a laser beam to activate a watch, led by Naoto Hosagaya, managing director of Citizen Watches HK Ltd.
Present at this occasion were Roy and Lilia Jacinto, he being the president of Wizer Industries, exclusive distributor of Citizen Watches in the Philippines.
Other visiting VIPs were Wendy Tam, sales executive of Citizen Watches in Hong Kong, and Joy Jalandoni, brand manager of Wizer.
Attracting a lot of attention was TV personality and actor Daniel Matsunaga, Citizen’s brand ambassador in the Philippines. He and Miss Earth 2008 Carla Henry hosted the opening’s lively program.
Jaja Chiongbian Rama of BigSeed, which handled the event, said that the first Citizen mono store opened in Manila in 2013. There will be more in the near future. Jaja further says Citizen has been in the Philippines since 1967.
To cap the event, there was a raffle of Citizen watches. Among the winners were Queenie Ammann and Monica Lopez. Among those present were Miss Cebu 2016 Raine Baljak with her beautiful mom Merce Abellana, Joevince Cañizares, Brian and Debbie Chua, Ramon Sebastian, Ernie Uy, Floodie Chiongbian and many more.
Libera sings in Cebu
The world-famous Libera children’s choir, based in London, made its fifth visit to Cebu and performed at the Center Stage of the SM Seaside City in Cebu’s South Road Properties. The venue was packed solid. The tiers are graded so that everyone has an unobstructed view of the stage.
At the start of the program, there were words of welcome from Roberto de Ocampo, former Secretary of Finance, and currently chair of the Philippine Veterans Bank.
As in other Libera concerts in Cebu, this one was brought about by the British Alumni Association, of which De Ocampo is the chairperson. The Arts Council of Cebu and SM Seaside City were involved as well, in partnership with Concertus Manila.
Arts Council president Petite Garcia was at the door with Elena Chiongbian Young and Mariz Rallos, who is in charge of the Arts Council office.
Of course, Marissa Fernan was present seeing to every detail, and leading Fr. Ernesto Javier, SJ, to his seat in the front row. Arts Council trustees seen were Teresin Mendezona, Annie Aboitiz, Elvira Luym, Angelina Escaño with her son Dr. Clint Escaño.
The program was sheer delight. The boys wore their white robes which sometimes glowed as the result of expert lighting (every song had its own lighting). Many of them spoke to the audience about their lives and tours, and how they have always enjoyed their visits to Cebu.
It was the general consensus that this performance was their best ever. It was commented on by some fans who follow Libera wherever in the world they perform. For this Cebu concert there were two American gentlemen, and fans from Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
There were songs of praise, as well as familiar tunes like the ever popular “Orinoco Flow.” The Cebuano audience was thrilled with their rendition of the Visayan Love Song “Usahay.”
It was dedicated to De Ocampo, for as one of the boys said to the audience, “This is a Valentine concert.” At its end, everyone rose to give Libera a standing ovation with sustained applause.
There was another standing ovation after they performed a song they always include in their Philippine repertoire—“Bayan Ko.”
The concert lasted about two hours. At the theater’s foyer were many Libera fans since the Arts Council had arranged for a meet-and-greet session for whoever wanted to exchange pleasantries with the boys.
They range in age from 8 to 14; some are small, like the little Japanese boy; and some are hunks, like the Mexican 14-year-old who spoke in Spanish and caused a collective swoon.