Outstanding Filipino awardees hailed as ‘shining examples to the nation’

MANILA, Philippines - Three top leaders – a former beauty queen-turned-culture and heritage advocate, a motivational speaker, and a climate change advocate – were recently conferred the highly coveted The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Awards. The ceremonies were held at the Tanghalang Haribon, Insular Life Corporate Centre in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

Heritage Conservation Society chairperson Gemma Cruz-Araneta, inspirational speaker and businessman Francis Kong, and Albay Gov. Joey Salceda were hailed as exceptional Filipinos for dedicating their lives to culture and the arts, business and entrepreneurship, and government service, respectively.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno was the guest speaker during the ceremony. She honored the awardees as “transformational leaders”.

Cruz-Araneta was lauded for her commitment to the promotion and preservation of Filipino heritage since winning the Miss International title in 1964 at the age of 21. An author of eight books tackling various topics from Mexican-Philippine relations to her grandfather Dr. Jose Rizal’s true love, the beauty queen proved her dedication to enriching knowledge about Philippine culture through her vast research in libraries and archives.

In her acceptance speech, Cruz-Araneta dedicated her latest achievement to two outstanding Filipinas who nurtured her: grandmother Filomena Francisco, “the first lady pharmacist of the Philippines” and sister of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, and her mother, Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil.

“From these two ladies, I learned that I should be proud as a Filipino, and that love of country is a noble endeavor and a lifelong pursuit,” she said. Cruz-Araneta continues her advocacy by serving as trustee and chairperson of a non-government organization that assists the Department of Education in the restoration of heritage Gabaldon Schoolhouses.

Inspirational speaker and STAR business columnist Francis Kong was honored for inspiring tens of thousands of Filipinos all over the world to be self-motivated in pursuing their career and personal goals. A success story himself who started out as a mannequin dresser and fish vendor, Kong now serves as a director of Inspire Leadership Consultancy and president of Success Option Publishing Company. He has also published 17 books alongside being a broadcaster and writing his newspaper column.

Kong firmly believes in the power of positive change “to encourage people to do good and make this country the best one”.

“The trophy and recognition are simply another encouragement that the work has to continue, and the work must be done,” he added.

Gov. Salceda was awarded for his commitment to good governance and disaster preparedness and response during his service as an Albay government official.  He institutionalized the Climate Change Adaptation program, which pushed for proactive preparations during typhoons to achieve zero casualty.

“It’s not enough to have tolerated casualty. We always strive for zero casualty,” said Salceda, who also champions tourism and manufacturing as key industries for sustainable growth of the province. His efforts have led to a 67-per cent  increase in tourist arrivals in Albay, which now enjoys the seventh-highest growth rate among provinces in the country.

Insular Life Chairman Vicente Ayllon thanked the awardees for serving as inspiration to the Filipino people.

“Thank you for showing us that a Filipino can be whoever he or she wants to be with hard work, patience and faith,” he said.

The TOFIL Award is a joint project of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Senate Philippines and The Insular Life Assurance Co. Ltd. The award is given annually to men and women, 41 years old and above, whose exceptional achievements are worthy of emulation. In its 27 years of existence, it has so far recognized 126 outstanding Filipinos from various fields.