General Santos City, fresh on its bid to become the Convention Capital of Region XII, will be the site of the biggest gathering of bloggers everywhere in the island –  the 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit or MBS 2, for short.

MBS 2 Semi-Poster

A temporary MBS 2 semi-poster designed by Sir Ariel Lalisan

This came after the organizers of the 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit held last September in Davao City led by Blogie Robillo, and his group, The Usual Suspects, felt it was time for the Tuna Capital to take the lead.

I and my small group of Socsksargen Bloggers have been thinking about it ever since Mark Aethen Agana of Koronadal, spearheaded a Blog Seminar last February which gathered almost two hundred participants at the Notre Dame of Marbel University.

The positive response of young people from Socsksargen to that seminar led me and seminar speakers Hecky Miñoza, Bro. Vince Celeste, FMS, Sir Ariel Lalisan, together with Gensan Trade portal owners Job and Liezl Oberio, photobuff Toto Lozano, Website designer Dennis Paul Custorio, and teacher Sandra Bonrusto to go a step higher – host an even bigger event, this time to be held in GenSan.

Some, like Hector however wanted to go big time and apply for the hosting of the 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit.  Why not?, we all chorused.  I then relayed our intent to our friends in Davao.

After a few informal talks and meet-ups with The Usual Suspects, famous kikay blogger & The Usual Suspect Muse, Ria Jose announced to me through a phone call, “We’re giving you the MBS 2.  Congratulations!”

Oh God!

Although The Usual Suspects will be behind us in this project, it will be Socskargen’s show all the way.  So far, in our email and text exchanges between our small team and that of Blogie’s, here are some details we can share to you…

NAME OF EVENT:  The 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit (MBS 2)

THEME:  Mindanawan: Paminawon Intawon. Blogging the Mindanao Consciousness

DATE:  October 25, 2008, Saturday, during the GenSan E-Business Week of the DTI and the city government.

We are still finalizing a suitable venue for the summit and will seal the deal hopefully this month.

The 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit in Davao drew more than 150 participants and so to reach that record, we have invited nationally-famous bloggers (along with Mindanao-based personalities) to make up the exciting list of resource speakers.

So far, I have received word from Inquirer columnist and Cable TV’s The Explainer, Manuel L. Quezon III himself that “It would be an honor to attend, please let me know the details.”

Oh my God!  Now the ball is really rolling!

And since this is GenSan, the Tuna Capital of the Philippines, our culmination activity will be the most-sought after among visitors, the SASHIMI NIGHT!

Now, if those aren’t more than enough reasons to be in GenSan, for the 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit on October 25, 2008 I really don’t know what else will be.

If you are a Socsargen-based blogger and would like to volunteer your services to the MBS 2, please leave a message here and indicate your talents and skills.  Daghang salamat!

UPDATE (July 30) –  We just conducted a Planning Workshop for the MBS 2 Gensan Convenors Group composed of volunteer students and bloggers from the Alabel National High School (students of Sir Ariel Lalisan) and Notre Dame of Dadiangas University.  Workshop facilitator was Hecky Miñoza who did a very good job coaxing out from us a lot of good suggestions and plans.

Check out too the blogs of some of our 1st batch of volunteers:

We are still currently looking for more volunteers in time for the 1st GENSAN BLOG SEMINAR this August which will be in preparation of the MBS 2 in October.

The next Gensan Convenors Meeting will be on August 9, 2008 at the City Mayor’s Office of Gensan.  Please leave a note here or a PRIVATE MESSAGE at the CONTACT BARILES PAGE somewhere up on the screen if you want to volunteer your services.  Leave your contact number please.