What is Christmas Without Presents?

by Marla de Castro (Phi '10) and Angeli de Jesus (Phi '11B)

On December 9, 2011, the members of the Phi Lambda Delta sorority and the Phi Kappa Mu fraternity proved that a Christmas present doesn’t always come in a box wrapped in fancy paper. For this year’s "Only The Phinest: Labindalawang Regalo Para Sa Isang Paskong Panalo," we showed the audience at the PGH Auditorium that the gift is in the giving. With the patients and their bantays in mind, the Phi Lambda Delta and Phi Kappa Mu lovingly thought of and carefully planned 12 gifts that would put smiles on their faces.

 

For the first gift, the hosts of the event, Gellai Ursabia (Phi ‘11B), Miko Amante (Phi ’11) and Erik Tongol (Phi ’11), presented the show itself: Only the Phinest. To start the event, prizes were raffled – including Sisters packages and the second gift, the "San Miguel Pure Foods Noche Buena Package."

 

As part of the program, it is an OTP tradition for the Phi Lambda Delta and Phi Kappa Mu to invite artists to perform or host games. The third gift included special performances from different celebrities. The first artist to show up on stage was Mr. Ogie Alcasid, now an OTP regular, who came as boy pick up and wowed the crowd with his humor. He was followed by actors Alwyn Uytingco and Jennica Garcia, both of whom sang their own songs for the audience. Janine Gutierrez (Party Pilipinas), Jeff Centeno (Mr. Philippines), Jerry Ibanez (Mr. Philippines) and Diane Querer (Bb. Pilipinas) also helped in hosting games for the very eager audience members. Not as famous, but in no way lacking in talent were our hosts Gellai Ursabia, Miko Amante and Erik Tongol who accompanied the celebrities in officiating in games such as Pinoy Henyo, Face Off, and the new hit game Kappa Lambda (Hep Hep Hooray with a twist). The hosts definitely made sure there were no dull moments and continued to entertain the crowd even after the program proper. And, what would OTP be without a little rock and roll? The fourth gift was given by 6cyclemind, who once again rocked the stage by playing some OPM favorites and their own songs.

 

To make the night extra special, goods donated by sponsors were packaged for different age groups to benefit from. For the fifth gift, different kinds of appliances were raffled, including rice cookers, electric fans, oven toasters and a coffeemaker. The sixth gift was a "Wyeth package" donated to the Pediatric Ward in PGH. The seventh and eigth gifts, both of which were also raffled, were the "Warmth of Christmas Kitchen Showcase from Petron Gasul" and the "Sari-Sari Store Pangkabuhayan Package."

 

Another addition to the OTP family this year was the PGH staff, who helped the Phi Lambda Delta and the Phi Kappa Mu set up the venue and prepared special performances for the audience. The ninth gift was composed of four numbers by PGH Staff members or groups, namely Impersonator Beyonce, Boys Get Bounce, Explosion and the Burn Unit Dance Group.

 

For the most important gift of all, the gift of life, the Phi Lambda Delta and the Phi Kappa Mu donated a Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt and financial aid for an Operating Room Assistance (OpeRA) procedure as the tenth and eleventh gifts to deserving patients. Both included financial assistance to surgical procedures needed by indigent patients. Videos were presented to show how the VP Shunt and OpeRA programs work and explain the necessity of such procedures.

 

To end the program, the twelfth gift, a truckload of goodie bags for both the audience and the PGH staff, was distributed. As promised, nobody would leave empty-handed.

 

Truly, the gift is in the giving. Although we, the members of the Phi Lambda Delta and the Phi Kappa Mu, did not go home with appliances and goodie bags, we were left with memories from that night. The joy we saw on the faces of everyone present, ourselves included, is worth more than any material gift and is something we will treasure for the rest of our lives.

 

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"Only the Phinest: Labindalawang Regalo Para sa Isang Paskong Panalo" was covered by the National Broadcasting Network.

 

The event was headed by Marla de Castro (Phi ’10), Raisa Fontanilla (Phi ’10), Zaid Diaz (Phi ’10), Mark Mujer (Phi ’10), Ashraf Tawasil (Phi ’10) and co-headed by Burn Alcazaren (Phi ‘11A) and Jean Mendoza (Phi ‘11A).