RAFI: Recognizing the real heroes of today!

Last Saturday evening was a red-letter night for the finalists of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) 3rd Triennial Awards for Exemplary Individual and Institution which recognize those who have uplifted the lives of less privileged and marginalized communities. These are the most prestigious awards given to ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

We are writing about them today because theirs is a story that needs to be told… after all, we in the media have always been accused of promoting only bad news because in truth, bad news does sell a lot of newspapers. But last Saturday, The Freeman gave a full editorial, including a cartoon, entitled, "The True Unsung Heroes and Heroines of Our Time." So allow me to reprint here this editorial piece, so that those who can’t be reached by The Freeman (whose editor is Jerry Tundag) would be touched by this very well-written editorial:

"While Risa Hontiveros Baraquel and her ilk scream in the streets to pay lip service to causes of women and the poor, others like Tessie Fernandez of Lihok Pilipina Foundation, Margie de la Cruz of UP Tacloban, and Hadja Bainon Karon of Kabunsan, Cotabato City actually do something about the same causes. And while Satur Ocampo and his ilk threaten to go to the hills to join rebels and avow to bring down the government, others like Fr. Roberto Layson of Pikit, North Cotabato, Mayor Ramon Piang Sr. of Upi, Maguindanao and Domingo Tadena of Davao City actually help strengthen institutions.

"Tessie Fernandez of the Cebu City-based Lihok Pilipina Foundation has not only been advocating awareness against domestic violence, but has actually helped close to 3,000 victims and continues to reach out to women and children displaced by such violence. Margie de la Cruz, professor of Marine Biology at UP Tacloban, founded the Guiuan Development Foundation as a means to help contribute to the upliftment of the socio-economic conditions of the fisherfolk in Eastern Samar.

"Hadja Bainon Karon uses revolutionary (she’s a former MNLF member) fervor in a different way, by helping advocate for the empowerment of the Bangsamoro women through the United Mindanawan Bangsamoro Women Multi-purpose Cooperative. Fr. Layson works to protect Muslims, lumads and Christian victims of war. Mayor Ramon Piang Sr. improved governance in his town and instilled accountability among his people. Doming Tadena dedicated his life to the protection of the Philippine Eagle and other endangered wildlife.

"In addition, volunteer doctors and nurses of the Maharlika Charity Foundation conduct free medical missions all over Mindanao. The Save Mindanao Volunteers provide social services to the remote communities in the Agusan marshes. The Brokenshire Integrated Health Ministries institutionalized community-owned and managed health and development programs, while the Mahintana Foundation is in the forefront of environmental protection in South Cotabato.

"These individuals and institutions doing tough and often dangerous volunteer work away from the limelight are the real unsung popular heroes and heroines that Baraquel and Ocampo and their ilk can never hope to be under any circumstances. It is only fitting that they get the recognition they deserve. And so the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation handpicked them to be this year’s finalists in the 3rd Triennial Ramon Aboitiz Award for Exemplary Individual and the Eduardo Aboitiz Award for Outstanding Institution."

Last Thursday, I had the golden opportunity to feature these heroes and heroines in my talkshow, Straight from the Sky, and I ended up with a first… cutting two shows in one interview… splitting a show for the Eduardo Aboitiz finalists for Outstanding Institution and coming up with another show for the Ramon Aboitiz Award for Exemplary Individual, which would be shown on different playdates. But since we taped this show before the awards, we shall only scroll the names of the awardees during the show.

At the Casino Español on Saturday evening, the Eduardo Aboitiz Award for Outstanding Institution went to Lihok Pilipina Foundation, founded by Mrs. Tessie Fernandez, while the Don Ramon Aboitiz Award for Exemplary Individual went to Mayor Ramon Piang Sr. of Upi, Maguindanao. But to the hearts of the men and women whose lives they have touched, all the nominees of the 3rd Triennial Awards are the heroes of today.

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In a rare happening in Cebu, the Manila Sports Car Club came to Cebu for the first leg of its roadtrip back to Manila via Cebu-Negros-Panay-Mindoro, dubbed the Nautical Highway. Its members were given a dinner reception by the Cebu Sports Car Club headed by my brother, Bing Avila, last Thursday evening at the Casino Español de Cebu with their sports cars parked at the basketball court. Indeed, it was great to see classic sports cars like James Lim’s 68 Mustang California Special, their vice chairman Jorge See’s Jaguar XKE and a lot of 60s’ Corvettes. Members of the Cebu Sports Car Club also paraded their gems for their counterparts in the Manila Sports Car Club to see and compare notes with.

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com. He also hosts a weekly talkshow, "Straight from the Sky," shown every Monday, at 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.