Honoring the best of Philippine tourism

Did you catch the awesome number on It’s Showtime last Saturday featuring a huge cast with the flamboyant masks of Bacolod’s Masskara Festival as motif? ABS-CBN launched the Choose Philippines Awards, featuring a huge cast including Hashtags, Girltrends and Junior Hashtags as endorsed by hosts Anne Curtis, Vhong Navarro, Billy Crawford, Amy Perez and Jhong Hilario.
Choose Philippines has always been showcasing the beautiful things our majestic country has to offer — from its natural riches, its awe-inspiring people, to its many and diverse cultural traditions and, of course, its delicious dishes, almost as numerous as our very own 7,107 islands.
After five years of discovering, sharing and exploring the Philippines, ABS-CBN’s travel Web site Choose Philippines marks 2016 with a special celebration, aiming to honor the country that inspired people to eat, explore and share meaningful experiences, via the Choose Philippines Awards.
“I recently visited Sampaloc Lake,” narrated ABS-CBN digital officer Donald Lim during a post-launch huddle of Choose Philippines Awards, only one of the ways ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ leading media and entertainment company, is directly promoting and supporting Philippine tourism.
Forever, the romantic series that starred Liza Soberano and Matteo Guidicelli, proved ABS-CBN’s travel push power when it featured Benguet’s Sitio Pungayan, dubbed as La Presa. The series made it an instant tourist spot.
The Story of Us, headlined by Kim Chui and Xian Lim, partly shot in El Nido, Palawan, followed. We’ve always seen its gorgeous rock formations and bodies of water but not its inside sites. The phenomenal series did just that and made the world-class tourist destination grab more local tourists.
“Sampaloc Lake was so beautiful but the tourism facilities there are awful,” Donald continued when he joined Erol Choa and this writer. “It reminded me so much of Vietnam and Cambodia which have to make do of whatever tourism facilities they have or the lack of. That is pretty much how things are in many parts of the Philippines. Our airports are a unhappy lot.”
“I do not know,” Donald answered when I asked why hold the Choose Philippines Awards in the second half of the year and not on the first half, which is generally regarded as tourist season. I took the answer to mean “better now or never,” an initiative whose time had come regardless of timing.
With the advocacy of promoting all the amazing things in the Philippines, netizens have responded by submitting their own inspired travels around the country, and we are recognizing those unforgettable moments through the launch of Choose Philippines Awards.
Honoring the best of what the Philippines has to offer, Choose Philippines Awards will collect nominations for three major categories — Best Destination, Best Dish and Best Accommodation.
The network, now rapidly transitioning into an agile digital company, also regularly features the country’s must-see destinations on multiple media platforms — on its magazines, TV shows, films and other digital platforms and services. ABS-CBN, through its Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation’s Ecotourism Projects, also offers packages that support the livelihood of locals and protect and maintain the natural ecosystems of the tourist sites.
The most-loved tourist spots that leave a lasting impression on travelers are recognized in the Best Destination category, with sub-categories Heritage Sites, Water Forms, Islands and Beaches, Mountains and Volcanoes, and Recreational Spots.
Choose Philippines also acknowledges the local gastronomic treats that best represent the uniquely Filipino taste in Best Dish’s Poultry, Beef, Pork, Vegetable, Seafood, Fusion, Native Exotic Delicacy and Panghimagas sub-categories.
Accommodations that excel in service, hospitality, comfort, accessibility and aesthetics and double as a home away from home are also honored in the Best Accommodation’s Family, Solo Traveler, Couple, and Barkada sub-categories.
All the nominations that will be received by the site will then be shortlisted by the country’s top travel bloggers, lifestyle experts and industry leaders.
The final five nominees for each category will be announced on October 10, when the voting for the Choose Philippines Awards will also begin.
Finally, the winners will be decided based on votes cast by netizens on the Choose Philippines Awards Web site and will be honored in a ceremony in November.
Aside from the major categories, Choose Philippines will also present special awards. There is Best Pinoy Advocate, which will go to the country’s most admirable locals, individual or group, who brought honor to the country; Best Pinoy at Heart, which will go to an individual or group of foreigners who have shown remarkable affinity towards the Philippines, its people and all things Pinoy; and Best Festival, which will honor the most exciting, unforgettable and meaningful Filipino festival.
Not to be missed is the Best Photo Contest, which will honor netizens who will send their nominations for different categories. All they have to do is upload a beautiful photo of their nomination on ChoosePhilippinesAwards.com for a chance to win special prizes as well as the opportunity to accept the Best Photo award onstage.
Visit choosephilippinesawards.com and tell us how proud you are as a Filipino as you nominate your favorites for Best Destination, Best Dishes and Best Accommodation.
Netizens from all over the country and around the world can start submitting their nominations for different awards after its launch on It’s Showtime on August 27 through its Web site, ChoosePhilippinesAwards.com. Submission of nominations will end on September 24.
Celebrate the people, places and dishes that gave you memorable adventures and moments!