CEO goes house-to-house for 20th anniv open tambayan

Last October 10, the Civil Engineering Executive Organization (CEO) brought the traditional open tambayan closer to home in celebration of 20 years. 

Instead of the usual free food giveaways on campus, a staple of campus organization culture, the College of Engineering and Agricultural Technology (CEAT)-based academic organization delivered pre-packed fiesta meals on October 10 to around 80 UPLB constituents for this year’s “Fiestambahay,” originally “Fiestambayan” prior to the quarantine.

Order-taking was done through a survey form on CEO’s Facebook page, stating that the move would only accommodate one order per response, from the people within the Los Baños, Laguna area.

In an October 2 Facebook post, the organization explained that their inspiration, in addition for the need to remind people to wear masks, was the Masskara Festival.

“This year’s theme for our Fiestambahay is inspired by the Masskara Festival. It is one of the liveliest and most colorful festival[s] in the Philippines where participants wear their vivid outfits and masks,” CEO said.

While most organizations have transitioned into holding all their organizational activities online, Kian Jord Dumdum, Ways and Means Committee Head of CEO, explained that the organization decided to continue their new open tambayan celebration because it was their way of giving back to the UPLB community for contributing to the growth of the organization.

Apart from this, CEO also noticed that there were still a lot of students still stranded in their dormitories.  

“Narealize din namin na marami pa rin na taga-LB ‘yung ‘di pa nakakaalis sa dorm and feel namin mas ma-appreciate nila ‘yung ganitong bagay during this pandemic,” Dumdum explained.

In order to estimate the number of food packs to prepare, CEO asked members of the UPLB community who were still in Los Banos to fill up a google form on Facebook two weeks ahead of distribution time.

CEO then assured the recipients of the pre-packed meals that the members prepared the food safely by disinfecting themselves and wearing proper protective gear. 

Despite social gatherings being prohibited to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Fiestambahay, aimed to bring smiles to the peoples’ faces even without social gatherings. [P]

Photo from UPLB Civil Engineering Executive Organization