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 4th 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 1st Runner-Up; PhP 15,000 for the 2nd Runner-Up; PhP 12,000 for the 3rd Runner-Up; and PhP 10,000 for the 4th 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.

To know more about COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises and Write to Ignite, visit www.comcomundo.com or follow https://www.facebook.com/comcomundo/ on Facebook and https://www.linkedin.com/company/comcomundo on LinkedIn.

COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises is the parent company and umbrella group for all of COMCO’s existing and upcoming ventures and initiatives, a collective of agencies and programs dedicated to advancing the communications profession and related disciplines such as digital, media, advocacy, training, and education, and entrepreneurship, among others; to be a force for social change; to nurturing talent growth, craftsmanship and workplace community culture; and to championing borderless collaboration. 

The COMCO Mundo League of Enterprises is comprised of COMCO Southeast Asia with a network of affiliates in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, COMCO Middle East & Africa, TARO AOX Inc. Digital + Integrated Communications, SEA Wave Pop Culture Studio, Camp COMCO Mentorship Program and Alumni Society, and Citizen COMCO Advocacy Program.

COMCO has been awarded Medium Consultancy of the Year in Asia Pacific at the PRCA APAC (Public Relations and Communications Association) Awards, thrice as Agency of the Year 2nd Runner-up at the IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) Quill Awards; Agency of the Year – Silver Award at the ASEAN PR Excellence Awards; twice as Finalist for Boutique PR Consultancy of the Year at Campaign Asia Pacific’s PR Awards Asia, Marketing Interactive’s PR Awards Asia-Pacific, and the global CIPR Excellence Awards; and 150 metals from various local, regional and international award-giving bodies.

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