ILOCOS NORTE ? They are no ordinary children. It was their first plane ride out of their native Ilocos Norte into a foreign territory. Their trip to Vietnam for an international choral tournament would also be their first global feat.

But like any other children, the 29 young singers of the Samiweng group of the Ilocos Norte National High School (INNHS) giggled at the slightest instance. Since it was their first air travel, their hearts thumped when the plane started to ascend and filled with shrieks.

That is how Sherberk Cabrales, choir conductor, described his ward of world-class singers who earned two gold diplomas in the First International Choir Festival and Competition in Hoi An in Vietnam on March 16-20.

?They could not contain their excitement while the plane was preparing to take off. They felt like they were out on a field trip,? Cabrales said.

The Samiweng singers, who are 95 percent freshmen, took home the gold diploma in the children?s choir category and another gold diploma in the sacred choir music category.

The group was also declared overall winner in the children's choir, sacred choir music, youth choir of mixed voices and youth choir of equal voices.

On top of the awards, the Samiweng singers got to raise the Philippine flag and sing the national anthem. The Philippine flag was raised twice after another Philippine contingent, the Coro San Benildo of the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, won in the folk choir category.

Cabrales directed the group in the sacred choir category while Robert Caluya, the Samiweng?s founder and INNHS? conductor emeritus, led them in the children?s choir category.

The other choral groups came from Estonia, Singapore, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Caluya said the international recognition was a product of years of dedication to good music beginning 1993 when he took over the choir from former choir mentor Sonia Morales.

?Nothing compares when your flag is raised,? he said. He said the group was ready for international competition as early as 2000, ?but we didn?t have money to send the kids abroad.?

For the Vietnam competition, the group made sure they had all the goods for their first journey abroad.

To raise P1.2 million was no easy task. Conductors held a fund raiser in December and pooled P350,000. Laoag City Mayor Michael Fariñas donated P150,000 while the rest were drawn from the pockets of students and their parents.

Choir members raised their own pocket money amounting to P11,000 each.

?When we had sufficient funds, we thought that half of the battle was won,? Caluya said.