The candidates for Binibining Cebu 2017 travelled to Ormoc City last December 9 to visit the families affected by the earthquake that hit the city in the middle of 2017.
The candidates headed by Binibining Cebu 2017 Apriel Smith, Binibining Cebu 2017 Tourism Samantha Ashley Lo, and Binibining Cebu 2017 second-runner up Kathleen Mae Lendio visited the makeshift tent houses at the evacuation centers of Barangays Gaas, Milagro, and Lake Danao, the three mountain barangays in the city that were greatly affected by the 6.5 magnitude earthquake and distributed bundles of joy to some 1,000 affected families in the area.
Along with the ladies were the Sacred Heart School for Boys (SHS-B) Batch 1985 Foundation Inc. represented by its president, Kenneth Lim, who is also president of Bb. Sugbu Charity Foundation Inc.; Bb. Cebu Project chairperson Raymond Tio, Regional Development Council (RDC-7) co-chairperson and world-renowned furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino, and volunteer artists from Artabang 2, an art auction and exhibit organized by the foundation for the benefit of the earthquake victims.
The Ormoc City government also received a P1 million cash donation from the group for the city’s rehabilitation projects.
The group the proceeded to Tacloban City the next day, December 10, to witness the turnover of six Ceres Liner buses of Vallacar Transit Inc. to the local government unit (LGU) of Tacloban City represented by Mayor Cristina Romualdez. The buses were lent by VTI to Tacloban to service the housing beneficiaries in the Tacloban North Resettlement Villages, especially the children in going to school. When the Tacloban LGU suggested that they buy the buses, VTI decided to donate these to the city government as service vehicles for the beneficiaries.
In line with Bb. Sugbu Charity Foundation’s vision of promoting the Cebuano beauty, culture and heritage and SHS-B Batch 1985 Foundation’s mission of providing help to those in need, various tourism initiatives and more charity works are being planned out by the group.