Global award-winning communications group COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises has finally
concluded “UNMASKED: The COMCO Mundo Write to Ignite Initiative Season 3” with the
announcement of the program’s Top Storytellers in a virtual awards night held recently.
Following the success of its first and second seasons, the initiative recently returned for a third
season to continue empowering storytellers across the nation by collating and amplifying their
powerful stories that champion the human spirit. Write to Ignite Season 3 brought to light
amazing stories that were previously untold, unheard, or underrated.
By pushing participants beyond their comfort zones and asking them to feature tales of triumph,
success and perseverance from other people they are connected to, work with or know, the
initiative was able to pull back the mask of everyday heroes from various walks of life and to
share their heartwarming journeys and inspiring perspectives in life.
Numerous participants from all over the Philippines participated in the challenge, with 40
finalists emerging to lead the journey. These finalists were invited to a Virtual Awarding
Ceremony, where the top 20 storytellers were declared.
Iris Acosta of Pinay Ads from Caloocan City emerged as the Grand Champion for her entry
“Unmasking Strength: A Journey of Resilience and Hope” about her mom’s battle against
cancer.
Other winners in the top 5 include 1st runner-up Gretchen Filart of Our World in Words
from Sta. Maria, Bulacan for her entry “Championing Biodiversity Against The Odds:
Environmentalist Celine Murillo, Unmasked” which is about the journey of environmentalist
Celine Murillo and her advocacy for the conservation of biodiversity and natural heritage through
storytelling; 2nd runner-up Katrina Rivera of Kwento ni Kat from Talisay City, Negros Occidental
for “Wrist Tags, Bananas in Pajamas, Masks, and All the Things That Can Keep Us Alive” which
is about her friend Nikka and her battle with lupus; 3rd runner-up Mauie Flores of The 24-Hour
Mommy from Cainta, Rizal for “UNMASKED: The Amazing Faith and Courage of a Fabulous
Ausome Mom” which is about her churchmate’s journey raising her three children in the autism
spectrum; and 4 th runner-up Marjorie Pineda-Uy of Woman in Digital from Quezon City for
“UNMASKED: God Loves You ‘As Is’” which is about her aunt’s experience living with disability.
The top 5 winners were also given an opportunity to support their selected accredited non-
government organization through donations as part of the prizes they won. Grand Champion Iris
Acosta chose to support Save the Children Philippines, 1st runner-up Gretchen Filart picked
Philippine Eagle Foundation, 2nd runner-up Katrina Rivera selected Make-A-Wish Foundation,
3rd runner-up Mauie Flores partnered with SOS Children’s Villages, and 4th runner-up Marjorie
Uy identified Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) as beneficiary.
The Grand Champion won PhP 40,000 and two international round-trip tickets from airasia. The
rest of the Top 5 winners won cash prizes, PhP 20,000 for the 1 st Runner-Up; PhP 15,000 for
the 2 nd Runner-Up; PhP 12,000 for the 3 rd Runner-Up; and PhP 10,000 for the 4 th Runner-Up.
The Top 6 to 20 finalists are bringing home cash prizes while all the Top 40 Finalists are
receiving merchandise items from sponsors and participating brands.
“We started the Write to Ignite initiative amid the pandemic. It was timely back then, and it still is
up to now. At a time when our social media has become a tool for the proliferation of fake news,
trolling, organized bashing, hate campaigns, and black propaganda, we go back to the very
essence and roots of blogging, which is authentic storytelling. This is what a real blogger does.
We trust and believe that they uphold the very essence of the practice, sharing the truth through
inspirational writing and storytelling. This is why we are proud of the Write to Ignite bloggers,
content creators, and storytellers as once again, they were able to demonstrate that the
platforms they use can be, and should be, used for positive social change," said Ferdinand L.
Bondoy, the Group Chief Executive Director and Lead Strategic Communications Counsel /
Partner and Co-Founder of COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises.
"It was a challenge to have to write someone else's story, but our Write to Ignite storytellers
were able to accomplish that and even exceed expectations. All entries and stories were very
valuable and worthy of being read, shared, and recognized," shared Mr. Bondoy.
UNMASKED: The COMCO Mundo Write to Ignite Initiative Season 3 is created and organized
by COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises, with airasia as a major sponsor / brand partner; with
Babyflo and PHILUSA Corporation, Century Tuna, Licealiz and Lamoiyan Corporation, Rémy
Martin, and Uratex Monoblock as sponsors / brand partners; with Make-A-Wish Philippines,
Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Philippine Eagle Foundation, Save the Children
Philippines and SOS Children's Villages Philippines as NGO partners; and with SEA Wave Pop
Culture Magazine as the official media partner.
10/12/2023 10:26:00 PM
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