Perseverance, peace, pursuit of happiness for Cobra Pinoy Heroes

MANILA, Philippines - The saying that there is always a rainbow after a storm could not be more appropriate as four colorful individuals and their feel-good stories of heroism have been brought to the spotlight and honored at the awarding ceremony of Cobra Pinoy Heroes 2013.

Cobra Pinoy Heroes are Roy Torrentira, Arizza Ann Nocum, Erick Epistola, and Dr. Anton Mari Lim whose works and personal achievement made them deserving to be called modern-day heroes. Each of them received P150,000 while 10 other special awardees received P50,000 each.

“These new Cobra Pinoy Heroes have shown that there are no problems too big to be solved,” Abe Ciprano, Asia Brewery AVP for non-alcoholic brands, says of the awardees. “It only starts with a small dream to bring about change, and this is why these are the people—heroes in their own ways—who we need today to inspire and lead others to have better lives.”

A lawyer by profession, Workforce category awardee Torrentira has known hardship all his life. From a poor family in Bohol, he has taken on odd jobs such as ice cream vendor, car wash boy, delivery truck driver, and while studying law in Adamson University, as a taxi driver.

Through all of that, the 29-year-old has experienced the kindness of his family, friends, classmates, and employers as he persevered to pass the bar exams. Now, as part of the Sacdalan Law Office in Sta. Cruz, Manila, Torrentira is paying it forward by offering free legal counsel to NGOS and indigenous groups.

“Maraming mga bagay ang hindi natin hawak, maraming nangyayari sa buhay na hindi natin mapipigilan,” Torrentira said. “Meron po kumu-kontrol niyan at iyan ang ating Maykapal. Tatanggapin na lang po natin ang mga bagay na hindi natin kayang baguhin. Kung naghihirap man tayo ngayon, sana hindi ito maging hadlang para makamit natin ang ating pinakainaasam na plano.”

Modern Day Hero Awardee Dr. Lim started the Yellow Boat of Hope project after he saw children of Layag Layag in Zamboanga City swimming their way to school. If there are yellow school buses, he says, then the children of small island commnities have yellow boats. There are currently 370 boats spread across 21 coastal communities nationwide. A veterinarian by profession, Dr. Lim said that the prize money will be useful in producing 18 additional Cobra boats.

Meanwhile, for the 18-year-old Youth category hero Nocum, growing up in a happy household with a Muslim mother and a Catholic father is reason enough to believe that peaceful co-existence is possible.

With the help of her family, they were able to put up the Kristian-Islam Library or KRIS, which enriches the minds and souls of over 200 Muslim-Catholic students. As a scholar herself taking up Industrial Engineering at the University of the Philippines, Nocum understands the importance of education and through KRIS, they are able to provide scholarships to the children of the less fortunate in Zamboanga City.

Nocum adds that providing a means for the children to learn is just the start.

“Objective din ng organisasyon namin ang peace at progress,” Nocum says. “Education geared towards progress kaya po kame may libraries at scholarships and we are also able to donate books to schools.”

In developing an affordable solar home lighting system for communities in remote locations, Epistola not only gave light to over 86 Mangyan families in Mindoro, but he also got recognized as this year's Hero Service awardee. Together with journalist and TV host Kara David’s Project Malasakit, Epistola has installed the system in over 500 houses and he continues to conduct workshops to ensure its sustainability.

During the awarding ceremony Wednesday, all four admitted that they never really see themselves as heroes but that they are thankful nonetheless to be recognized with the hope that their stories will inspire others to do even little things that would help in nation building.