The Sangguniang Panlalawigan on Monday unanimously approved a resolution allowing the local government to accept a donation from a private company for the Ilocano choir “Samiweng,” which bagged two top awards in the recently concluded 12th World Choir Games (WCG) held in Gangneung-si, South Korea on July 7-14.

Provincial Resolution 2023-07-171 gave Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc, representing the Ilocos Norte government, to receive the voluntary donation from Mirae Asia Energy Corp. and give it to the choir.

Mirae Asia operates the largest solar project in Currimao, Ilocos Norte.

“The amount is a voluntary donation in support of the projects and programs of the Ilocos Norte government, such as sending delegates to World Choir Games,” provincial board member Franklin Dante Respicio said in sponsoring the measure together with the Committee on Laws on Monday.

Aside from the solar company, other public and private entities are also helping further inspire exemplary individuals under the so-called Sirib Awards program of the provincial government.

During the 2023 World Choir Games, the multi-awarded Samiweng Singers of the Ilocos Norte National High School (INNHS) copped the top prize Gold V in Musica Contemporanea for the mixed choir’s category and Gold IV for youth choir of mixed voices category, besting thousands of the world’s best singers from six continents.

Founded in 2001, the Samiweng Singers has won several awards and prizes in choir festivals and competitions here and abroad.

In 2022, the group, which is currently on a concert tour in Hawaii, the United States, was invited to sing the national anthem during the first State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (PNA)