Rony’s Company Call Fundrauses for LAMAVE!

Sunday, November 11, “Rony’s Company Call – A Stage Door to Christmas” set the stage for Christmas, with a night of music, dancing, Santa hats and bubbles, all in support of LAMAVE!

The special event, hosted by Jon-Jon Rufino and Rocio Olbes-Ressano and held at the BGC Arts Centre, is the third of its kind and fundraises for a cause; this year LAMAVE were the beneficiaries. The magical night of music and conservation was led by award-winning Musical Director Rony Fortich who brought together performers Bianca Lopez, Felix Rivera, Floyd Tena, Gab Pangilinan and surprise guest Mike Chan. A combination of solos, duets and dance numbers set the stage alight with songs from Phantom of the Opera, The Greatest Showman and festive Christmas numbers.

Jon-Jon Rufino, Gab Pangilinan, Felix Rivera, Rony Fortich, Rocio Olbes-Ressano , Bianca Lopez and Floyd Tena thank the audience.

LAMAVE President Ariana Agustines thanked the audience for their help in supporting LAMAVE’s initiatives to protect charismatic marine megafuna in the Philippines including the famous Butanding. She highlighted that “As an archipelagic nation, we are so interconnected and dependent on the ocean and its resources. The health of our ocean and the balance of the marine trophic web and habitats is crucial for our survival; 60% of our total population are coastal communities.” and went on to share LAMAVE journey since its inception in 2010, sharing that “we have initially focused on collecting baseline data of the species we work with to understand their population structure, habitat use and national/regional movements as well as quick response to animal strandings mainly in the Bohol region. But we have expanded our work to encompass the Sulu Sea, Mindanao and Central/Southern Visayas, where we engage with the local communities and highlight the importance of their area to these endangered species and what that signifies in the greater context of conservation.”

Between the acts, members of the audience had the opportunity to learn more about LAMAVE’s research and conservation projects in the Philippines, as well as bid in a special holiday auction made possible by our generous sponsors (see below). All proceeds went to support LAMAVE research and conservation projects. A special thank you to Don Papa and Three Hens Wine who kept the party going and delighted the guests with cocktails and wine.

The night was a great success and the team would like to say a special thank you to Jon-Jon Rufino and Rocio Olbes-Ressano for their generosity and passion in hosting this event in support of marine conservation. Thanks also goes to the talented Rony Fortich, Bianca Lopez, Felix Rivera, Floyd Tena, Gab Pangilinan and Mike Chan who blew the audience away with their talent. Finally thank you to all of the night’s sponsors and the generous individuals who bid in the silent auction. Together you are making a difference in protecting marine megafauna and their habitats in the Philippines, a country we all call home.