Haircut feat: 388 people in 3 hours

Breaking the world record on mass cutting of hair was no barber’s tale for residents of Valenzuela City.

Ten employees of Newsbarbers and Reyes Haircutters snipped the hair of 388 males—from a 2-year-old toddler to a senior citizen—within three hours in an event dubbed “Gupitang Bayan Para sa Kabuhayan project.”

The barbers finished at 12:30 p.m., smashing the Guinness World Record of 246 haircuts done by eight barbers of Gatsby Salon in 8 hours in New Jersey on March 7, 2011.

The event on Sunday was an attempt not only to beat the world record but also to provide livelihood training to the poor.

But some residents saw it as an early political gimmick for one of the organizers, former Surigao Gov. Robert “Ace” Barbers.

Barbers, whom most residents called “senator” upon his arrival, partnered with Valenzuela Councilor Cristina Marie Feliciano and her brother, Rovin Andrew Feliciano, barangay chief of Arkong Bato, in launching the project.

Barbers said he had taken an interest in the welfare of the barbers, noting that haircutting could be an easy and promising job for Filipinos in the country and abroad

“Plus, it sounds like our family name,” said the son and namesake of the late senator Robert Z. Barbers when asked about the reason he had chosen the project.

Asked if the event in Valenzuela was an early boost for his plan to run for senator in the 2013 midterm elections, Barbers said he only wanted to replicate a livelihood training which began in Surigao del Norte.

He added that “local officials in Valenzuela are his friends.”

Without a representative from Guinness to witness the haircutting, he said event organizers would submit to the Guinness’ headquarters in London documentation materials, including photos and videos.

The program opened at 8 a.m., with several people forming a queue to register in the free-haircut and livelihood training.

From 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the team cut hair, beating the previous record.

“They did their jobs really fast without sacrificing style. We want to showcase this kind of talent to the world,” Barbers said.

One barber, he said, could perform at least 30 haircuts in three hours.

A livelihood training was simultaneously conducted while the record was being broken.

By the end of the training, a hundred participants were given a starting kit containing haircut manuals and materials like brush, towel, cape, scissors and comb.

One of the beneficiaries, Aloha de la Cruz, 32, brought her 8-year-old son Mark Anthony with her to participate in the free haircut project.

“This is a good opportunity during hotter days and while the opening of classes is a few weeks away,” De la Cruz said. With a report from Christine Exevea