Press Release
September 8, 2007

PIA LEADS FUND-RAISING FOR DIFFERENTLY ABLED KIDS

Six years ago on September 19, 2001, Senator Pia Cayetano and lawyer Butch Sebastian lost their youngest child, Gabriel Cayetano Sebastian to complications from Trisomy 13, a rare chromosomal disorder. He was only nine months old.

Baby Gabriel was born deaf, blind and had a cleft lip and palate. He also had enlarged kidneys and a hole in his heart. Despite all these, he got to live much longer than most babies born with the condition, who usually die within a month from birth.

Losing their third child was devastating to Sen. Pia and Atty. Butch, but it also opened their eyes to the plight of similarly situated parents whose children are born with disabilities.

On September 8, 2007, hundreds of volunteers will take part in the fifth staging of the "12-Hour Multi-Sport Celebration for a Cause In Memory of Gabriel" at the Ayala Alabang Country Club in Muntinlupa City. The event is held annually to remember Sen. Pia's "brave little warrior" and raise funds for children like him who were born with cleft lip and palate and other disabilities.

In its previous staging, participants either walked, ran or biked several kilometers, with each completed kilometer usually corresponding to an amount pledged by a donor. This year's event will be different since it will also include multi-sport activities to be participated in by women, children, sports clubs and corporate employees' groups.

Highlighting the new events is the Maxitoylab Super Kids Triathlon, wherein kids will accomplish a triathlon with carefully calibrated distances based on their age category. The triathlon is subdivided into six age-groups, namely: Under 7, 7-8, 8-9, 9-10, 11-12 and 13-15 years old.

Also lined up is the Pinay In Action (PIA) Women's Triathlon consisting of a 250-meter swim, 10-kilometer bike and 2.5-kilometer run. Another highlight is the Ironman Distance for a Cause (3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42km run) by veteran triathletes Maiqui Dayrit and Geraldine Santiago.

Meanwhile, the traditional 12-hour walk, run and bike for a cause�which used to be an individual event�has now been opened to clubs, friends and corporate employees who will be made to do a relay.

Each participating team (made up of 6-12 members) will be asked to pay P18,000 as entrance fee which will be used to cover expenses for one cleft lip operation (P7,500), a pair of artificial eyes (P2,000), and one hearing aid (P8,500).

This year's event will continue to finance operations for infants with cleft lip and palate at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), Gen. Malvar Hospital and the V. Luna Veterans Hospital.

The Foundation will also support the nurses of the pediatric neurosurgery department of PGH who volunteer for surgery operation missions for children suffering from hydrocephalus and cranio-facial disorders.

Other beneficiaries include the Parents Advocate for Visually Impaired Children (PAVIC) and 20 schools being aided by the Resources for the Blind, which will receive Braille books written by Gabriel's grandmother and Senator Pia's mother, Ms. Sandra Schramm-Cayetano.

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