Success demands dedication, discipline and decision. And success, before it can be achieved, springs first from challenges masquerading as failures. Success unshared, however, is also failure. So, a kind heart that keeps on giving becomes the generous sibling of success.
The most interesting story always has something to do with people’s success — the kind that serves as an inspiration to many, the kind that warms the heart, the kind that warrants an approving nod or a silent applause from the one who reads of hears the story.
The no-nonsense and distinguished PeopleAsia magazine presents its People of the Year for 2014. On its pages are a parade of names and faces of people who have made a difference in their lives and in the lives of others. They have made their country proud, and to some extent, they have made humanity a race to be loved, nurtured and celebrated all the more.
Take for example the life of Pope Francis, who is PeopleAsia’s special awardee. Or the mere existence of Rustan Group of Companies founder Ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. and SyCip, Gorres, Velayo & Company founder Washington SyCip, who are both this year’s Lifetime Achievement Awardees. Theirs is a cornucopia of lives well lived in the pursuit of making the lives of others better.
Indeed, everyone has a tale to tell that makes one a unique individual. Meet the rest of PeopleAsia’s People of the Year 2014 and learn a thing or two from them.
People of the Year awardees: (First row) RCBC president and CEO Lorenzo Tan, legendary Sampaguita Pictures star Susan Roces and multi-awarded singer, songwriter and 'Concert King' Martin Nievera; (second row) 'Mr. Pure Energy' Gary Valenciano, Hennan Group of Resorts chairman Henry Chusuey and humanitarian and Operation Smile advocate Mariquita Yeung; (third row) renowned glass sculptor Ramon Orlina, civic leader Loida Nicolas-Lewis and Cebu-based fashion designer Cary Santiago. File photos
Secretary Albert del Rosario
One of the hardest and stressful jobs is public service. To be in government service is to be scrutinized by the public. One public servant who is never remiss in fulfilling his job is Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario who champions the welfare of overseas Filipino workers. His astute leadership is also beneficial in promoting the cause of Philippine sovereignty.
Mariquita Yeung
“Kindness is always in fashion, always in style,” says Mariquita Salimbangon Yeung, a successful real estate developer in Cebu. She found a more meaningful life when she founded in 1991 the MSY Charitable Foundation Inc., which, since 1998, has partnered with Operation Smile. Nothing more can make Mariquita extraordinarily happy than seeing joy in the smiles of children whose “broken faces” have been restored to their natural beauty.
Kris Aquino
Kris Aquino’s wattage as a celebrity is not just seen or felt in the number of her Instagram followers (1.4 million) or the box-office tabs of her horror movies or the reach of her influence as a TV host or brand endorser. Her honesty, an Aquino trait, as a taxpayer takes center stage in her being Filipino as Kris remains to be one of the top-paying individual taxpayers in the country. In fact, she has remitted P140 million in taxes to the government from 2009 to 2012. In 2011 alone, she paid P49.89 million in taxes, claiming the No. 1 spot in the Top 500 individual taxpayers that year.
Boy Abunda
He who makes his mother proud is a good man. Boy Abunda, who makes his Nanay Lesing proud, is filled with gratitude towards life. Boy’s abundance includes his restored health that restored further his faith in God. Like his best friend Kris Aquino, Boy helps the less fortunate in his native Borongan silently that it is almost obscene for him to talk about what his left and right hands do. The country’s King of Talk tells the youth: “Always strive to be your best.” He barely had anything when he was growing up in Eastern Samar. But Boy is destined to become a man whose life will matter — to him and to others.
Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga is the quintessential Filipino international artist. Long before YouTube and American Idol brought Filipino talents to the fore, Lea Salonga had already conquered the world stage. And the world has remembered her for her talent and the accolades she has reaped, including the much-coveted Olivier and Tony awards for her portrayal of Kim in Miss Saigon. The applause and ovations for Lea’s talent have yet to stop. Perhaps they never will.
Martin Nievera
Martin Nievera, in perhaps the “most human interview” he has given, defines failure as the spawning ground of success. Considering he lost in many singing contests he joined when he was starting, Martin has made 30 albums.
Gary Valenciano
Gary Valenciano is Mr. Pure Energy not only because of his prowess to perform but also because of his unflinching faith. As Joyce Reyes-Aguila beautifully writes in her article on Gary titled Timeless Energy: “By whatever yardstick — longevity, fan base, stylistic range or audience reach — Gary Valenciano is every inch a phenomenon.”
Susan Roces
“You know royalty when you see one,” writes Greggy Vera Cruz in his article Bed of Roces, an ingenious title to depict the life of Susan Roces, the Queen of Philippine Showbiz. Greggy enticingly chronicles Susan’s life on the pages of PeopleAsia when he wrote that the widow of Fernando Poe Jr. was just a fan seeking the autograph of Gloria Romero when starmaker Dr. Jose Perez of Sampaguita Pictures spotted her. Since then, Susan has not lost her patina as an actress, as a star.
Loida Nicolas-Lewis
Loida Nicolas-Lewis — the first Asian to have passed the New York Bar without having to study in the US and the former chair and CEO of TLC Beatrice International, the largest African-American US-based conglomerate in the ‘90s — is the total picture of a global Pinoy. She is a philanthropist who believes that by giving his fellow Filipino the right guidance will help them improve themselves. She is a civic leader who cares about the welfare of her country and her countrymen.
Hans Sy
Hans Sy, when he was 13 years old, came to work at Shoemart Makati, owned by his father Henry Sy, excitedly expecting a job that befits the child of the owner of the company. Lo and behold, he was asked to throw away the garbage. He was bothered and disappointed. But along the way, he saw the wisdom of his father. Now, he is the SM Prime president and CEO.
Cary Santiago
The call of couture was heard by Cary Santiago at an early age. As he celebrates his 25th year in the fashion industry, Cary continues to mesmerize the world with his artistry. “Don’t settle for mediocrity and always raise the bar,” is his advise to young designers.
Ramon Orlina
Ramon Orlina, so to speak, sculpted his destiny to become an internationally acclaimed glass sculptor. After years of studying architecture, he tells Denise Roco in an interview, he no longer felt the spark. He yearned to create something different. So, one night, in 1972, he realized that being an artist, and not as an architect, was his destiny. He surrendered to his muse and it gave birth to a long-time love affair — with glass.
Lorenzo Tan, Henry Chusuey & Dr. Edgardo Cortez
Rounding off the list of “People of the Year” awardees are individuals who embody excellence in their respective professions and fields of expertise: RCBC president and CEO Lorenzo Tan, the “Miracle Man;” Henann Group of Resorts in Bohol and Boracay chairman Henry Chusuey, the “King of the Isle;” and St. Luke’s president and CEO Dr. Edgardo Cortez.
All these real stories of real people are waiting to be read by you on the pages of PeopleAsia magazine. Truly an “unputdownable” issue.
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For your new beginnings, e-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com. I’m also on Twitter @bum_tenorio and Instagram @bumtenorio. Have a blessed Sunday!