PeopleAsia honors ‘People of the Year’

MANILA, Philippines -  President Aquino led in the presentation of PeopleAsia’s Lifetime Achievement Award to National Book Store founder Socorro “Nanay Coring” Ramos, 90, at a star-studded awards ceremony at Raffles and Fairmont Makati Tuesday night.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, top government officals, the diplomatic corps and the movers and shakers of business, entertainment and civil society also graced the event, where awards were also given to 14 People of the Year.

Ramos, who started out as a factory worker at age 12, founded National Book Store in the 1940s, which flourished despite the ravages of World War II, a devastating storm and the ups and downs of a growing economy. Today it has over 150 branches and over 4,500 employees nationwide.

Aquino said Ramos “has dedicated her whole life to cultivate a love of reading and consequently, a love of learning in Philippine society,” thus nurturing generations of Filipinos.

“Her example shows all of us that true success is found not only in a thriving business, but also and more importantly, in the dedication and values that make it a mainstay of our society,” he said after conferring the Lifetime Achievement Award on Ramos.

The President also lauded the People of the Year Awards Night as an event that celebrates “neither riches nor power, neither prestige nor fame. These are all happy accidents, the byproducts of what is the true cause of celebration: a life dedicated to the pursuit of excellence, whatever field you may be in, and a life well lived – one that has a tangible effect on others.”

Since 2004, PeopleAsia has been recognizing outstanding individuals in business, entertainment and advocacies, among others.

Among this year’s People of the Year are Miss World 2013 Megan Young, superstar Nora Aunor, Rizal Banking Commercial Corp. chair Helen Yuchengco-Dee, five-time PBA “Coach of the Year” Chot Reyes, critically acclaimed film director Brillante Mendoza, “Prince of Indie” Coco Martin, Shell Philippines country chair and MAP Management Man of the Year Edgar Chua, ABS-CBN channel head Cory Vidanes, Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla, pop diva Kuh Ledesma, fashion designer Criselda Lontok, pioneering prosthodontist Steve Mark Gan, education advocate Fr. Gerard Deveza and Australian hotelier Thomas Meyer of Raffles and Fairmont Hotels.

Special awards were also given this year to 23-year-old Alexandra Eduque, whose charitable work through Habitat for Humanity has been recognized internationally; and the MVP Group of Companies for their extensive relief efforts for the disaster-ravaged provinces in the Philippines.

The latter was represented by Mike Toledo, MVP Group media bureau chief and Philex Mining SVP for corporate affairs.

People of the Year 2014 also honored the resident ambassadors of the countries that donated to the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda. The magazine, together with Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, presented plaques of appreciation to 29 ambassadors and their representatives.

“In true PeopleAsia fashion, I see that we have also broken a little from tradition because we are not only joined by this year’s batch of awardees, but also by a particular group of people I have met with before,” the President noted.

Among the envoys who received the special plaques of appreciation were Ambassadors John Gomes (Bangladesh), George Ney de Souza Fernandes (Brazil), Malai Hajah Halimah Malai Haji Yussof (Brunei), Neil Reeder (Canada), Menashe Bar-On (Israel), Massimo Roscigno (Italy), Toshinao Urabe (Japan), Hyuk Lee (Korea), Waleed Ahmad Al-kandari (Kuwait), Dato Mohd Zamri Bin Mohd Kassim (Malaysia), Julio Camarena Villasenor (Mexico), Reuben Levermore (New Zealand), Knut Solem (Norway), Safdar Hayat (Pakistan), Nikolay Kudashev (Russia), VP Hirubalan (Singapore), Agnes Nyamande-Pitso (South Africa), Ivo Sieber (Switzerland), Prasas Prasasvinitchai (Thailand), Moosa Abdulwahid Alkhajah (UAE), Philip Goldberg (USA) and Truong Trieu Duong (Vietnam). Representatives of the ambassadors from the European Union, Germany, India, Laos, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain were also present to receive the plaques.

The People of the Year 2014 awards night was hosted by media personalities Marc Nelson and Bianca Valerio. Awardee Criselda Lontok also revealed her exclusive, all-new collection, created especially for the awards night, while pop diva Kuh Ledesma enthralled the audience with two song numbers.

People of the Year 2014 was sponsored by Raffles and Fairmont Makati, RCBC, Thai Airways, Rustan’s, G.A.O.C, Nars, Laura Mercier, L’Occitane, Starworld, Coca-Cola, Aboitiz, ICTSI, Cream Factory, House of Obagi, L’Oreal, Philex Mining and The Philippine STAR.