Negros musician
qualifies in ‘The Voice’

A man who can play seven instruments simultaneously is the newest member of Sarah Geronimo's team in the second season of “The Voice of the Philippines”, ABS-CBN.com said.

Elmerjun Hilario, 25, from Negros Occidental, is a wedding singer and a full-time musician. His ability to play seven instruments makes him a unique choice for clients looking for entertainment and music in their events.

On the show's episode on Saturday, Hilario performed an energetic rendition of Ace of Base's "The Sign", making Geronimo turn for him.

"Kasi 'yung energy mo, parang bata eh. Parang magkabagay 'yung energies niyo eh (Your energy is for the young, your energies seem to match)," Lea Salonga said, explaining her reason for not turning her chair for Hilario.

“I will steal you, man. I'm jealous, I'm jealous. I wish I hit my button, now knowing that you play seven crazy instruments,” coach Bamboo Mañalac said.

He said he did not turn for Hilario because he could hear his nerves, “you were a bit shaky, nervous."

Geronimo said she was very happy she turned for Hilario. “While coach Bamboo said he felt you were nervous, I did not hear that, I heard your heart singing for us,” she said.

“I really like your being hyper, you really are positive, optimistic,” she said in welcoming Hilario to her team.

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Trees planted at
Negros 1st ranch

Officers and members of the Negros Press Club, in partnership with Smart Communications Inc., 303rd Infantry Brigade, Philippine Army, and PruLife U.K. planted around 1,500 variety seedlings at the Negros 1st Ranch in Murcia town, Negros Occidental, Saturday.

NPC president Carla Cañet and her group joined Smart Public Affairs Division officials NN Navarro and Joyce Panaligan, with their Technical services and Bacolod branch supervisors and staff, the 303rd IB troops, headed by Col. Jon Aying, and PruLife U.K., through the support of Reena Villamor, AVP for Marketing, in planting the seedlings provided by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office.

Cañet said it was the third time that NPC has partnered with Smart and the 303rd IB, and first time with PruLife U.K. She thanked their partners for making the endeavor possible.

“It is our moral obligation to help protect and preserve our environment, considering that we all live and enjoy its abundance. But we cannot also deny the fact that we have started to experience the toll of climate change in the form of natural calamities. We must therefore share our time and effort to plant more trees which, in the future, will serve as our buffer or protection in times of calamities,” she added.

Panaligan said they are grateful for continuously doing this endeavor with the NPC, and for this year, have also engaged their PruLife U.K. friends. Through the program, “Smart trees”, they have planted over a million upland and mangrove seedlings since 2006, and they want to continue contributing and protecting the environment, she added.

Panaligan said protecting the environment is one of their advocacies. “This is one way of offsetting our carbon footprint because according to studies, the forest serves as our first line of defense and it is our obligation to protect it against flooding and storm surge,” she said.

Aying said tree planting is also in line with the Army’s thrust of helping reforest or widen the forest cover in support of the National Greening Program to counter carbon footprints and reduce the spread of carbon monoxide. This is part of our advocacy because the Department of National Defense has a quota of 50 million trees, he said.

When he chose the site, he asked Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. to allow tree planting in the 150-hectare ranch since the nursery of the 303rd IB is practically filled up, and assured that they will work with the community to take care of the seedlings to ensure their growth and serve their purpose.

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