MANILA, Philippines -- Against all odds, the InCHOIRer, the choral group of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, won first runner-up honors in a competition sponsored by Korean car company Hyundai.

Working with a modest budget, the 27-strong choir pulled it off, achieving what was unthinkable just six weeks ago when the group?s rehearsals for the Media Noche Chorale contest began.

Under the baton of prize-winning conductor Jerry Dadap, the InCHOIRer proudly sang alongside more seasoned and polished competitors from other media outfits in the contest held Friday night in Teatrino, Greenhills, San Juan.

Accompanied by the Rizal Technological University Rondalla, the InCHOIRer sang a medley of Filipino/Visayan Christmas songs and an original carol composed by Dadap.

Along with the trophy, the InCHOIRer brought home P100,000, which Hyundai will match with a donation to the group?s chosen charity: Hands On Manila -- an umbrella organization for volunteers espousing various advocacies.

The grand prize went to the team from GMA 7 (with a P200,000 prize) and second runner-up to the Business Mirror group (P50,000).

The contest followed an ?American Idol?-type format in which three judges dished out comments -- both good and bad -- on the night?s performances.

Among the judges were award-winning singer Ivy Violan, popular composer Louie Ocampo, and respected voice teacher Kitchy Molina.

The InCHOIRer stood out, according to the judges, because it was the only one among the five participating groups that chose an all-Filipino repertoire.

Violan told the Inquirer in a phone interview on Saturday: ?I was so touched by their songs. I really felt my being a Filipino last night. I got sentimental.?

During the contest, Ocampo told the group: ?You?re excellent. The harmony, the costume, the choreography?are all good.?

Molina agreed: ?I liked the nationalist touch. [Your production number] had a story line. It was like watching a music video. It was original.?

Also during the contest, Ocampo acknowledged that he and his fellow judges were having a ?difficult time? choosing the winners.

Violan explained to the Inquirer: ?We thought that after GMA 7?s performance, the contest was over. But after the InCHOIRer?s number, I got torn. Sumakit ang ulo namin. (We got a headache trying to decide.) It was a tough, tight race.?

Violan said that it didn?t matter that the InCHOIRer sang in Tagalog and Visayan for the foreign guests, which included the Korean ambassador to the Philippines Choi Joong-Kyung and Hyundai officials.

?I also sang Filipino songs in contests held abroad and I won the grand prize,? she said.

Language is no barrier, she pointed out.

?For as long as you hit the heart of the audience, you?re a winner,? she said.

What was more important, she said, was that it was evident that the InCHOIRer members put their heart and soul into their songs.

?The InCHOIRer was a team,? she noted.

Little did the judges know of the nerve-wracking days and weeks that led to the big night in Teatrino.

The InCHOIRer, which was formed barely two years ago, had to struggle in putting the group together since most of the members are editorial staffers who have daily deadlines to beat, said editor Ester Dispasupil.

?We only started rehearsals six weeks ago and we had to recruit new members,? Dipasupil said. ?Most of us were first-timers too.?

The InCHOIRer had to squeeze in rehearsals between closing pages in an unusually busy month that witnessed the so-called Joc-Joc Bolante hearings and the Mumbai tragedy.

The group also had to schedule last-minute gown fittings with Laguna-based dressmaker Tess Quismundo in the paper?s Makati office, along with shopping trips to Baclaran to buy 13 barong Tagalog shirts.

Members of the InCHOIRer come from different sections of the newspaper -- sopranos: Cyril Bonabente, Michelle Remo, Mary Ann Ayos, Mylene De Jesus, Rissa Camongol, Vangie Reyes, Rhosetle Magno, Tarra Quismundo; altos: Ester Dipasupil, Nikko Dizon, Jocelyn Uy, Riza Olchondra, Abigail Ho, Teena Montevirgen; bass: Noli Navarro, Rolly Abad, Bayani San Diego, Santiago Alcantara, Edwin Bacasmas, Lawrence De Guzman, Ruben Alabastro; tenors: Aries Espinosa, Edson Tandoc, Emman Cena, Daxim Lucas, Amadis Ma. Guerrero, and Stephen Nories Padilla.