Lihok Pilipina wins big in RAFI Triennial Awards

Cebu-based women's group Lihok Pilipina was awarded as Most Outstanding Institution, at the Casino Español yesterday, during the awarding ceremony of the 3rd Triennial Awards initiated by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc.

Mayor Ramon Piang Sr. of Upi, Maguindanao, was also awarded as the most exemplary individual for being a model in good governance and as peace advocate of Upi's culturally pluralistic community.

The Triennial awards is the continuing effort of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation to search and recognize the unsung heroes in the Visayas and Mindanao who set an example of lives dedicated to help and serve others.

The awards was established to give recognition and encourage individuals and institutions, who through their efforts in bringing about hope and change for the better in the lives of the less-privileged.

The Awards were given in two categories - The Ramon Aboitiz Award for exemplary individual and the Eduardo Aboitiz Award for Outstanding Institution, both in the field of social development.

Lihok Pilipina initially started as a project of Pilipina-Cebu that took on poverty alleviation as its first cause. Lihok has programs for women, like credit assistance, and for street children. It also organized the Bantay Banay which assists victims of rape, incest and domestic violence.

Lihok bested four other institutions that were chosen finalists in the third grand triennial awards of RAFI - the Maharlika Foundation, Mahintana Foundation, Save Mindanao Volunteers Inc. and the Brokenshire Integrated Health Ministries.

Brokenshire and Maharlika give health services to underserved and war-torn areas in Mindanao while Mahintana Foundation's health, livelihood, educational, and environmental programs have helped communities in Socsargen.

Save Mindanao, on the other hand, reaches out to remote and inaccessible communities of Agusanon Manobos in the Agusan marsh. The group's work includes literacy and medical programs that resulted in the setting up of floating learning centers, library and mobile clinic.

In an interview, Lihok executive director Tessie Fernandez said that the recognition is considered as a gift for them in time for the Women's Month Celebration.

"With the country being preoccupied with political turmoil, our feat should serve as an encouragement for others to do their share. We should stop talking and do the action," Fernandez said.

Lihok Pilipina pioneered the awareness of domestic violence, women's plight and women's rights in the 1980s when domestic violence was not yet an issue openly talked about.

The group's notable achievement was the creation of the Office of the Urban Poor as one of the departments in Cebu City Hall and has helped close to 3,000 clients in Cebu City alone and it continues to reach out to women and children needing shelter and prompt attention due to domestic violence and abuse cases.

Meanwhile, Piang won over marine biologist Margarita dela Cruz of Tacloban City, anti-poverty advocate Bainon Karon of Cotabato City, eagle conservationist Domingo Tadena of Davao City and Fr. Roberto Layson, a peace builder.

In his acceptance speech last night, Piang said that his award would not be made possible had it not been for the support and trust of his constituents.

In a place where political motive is a suspect and social and economic development is elusive, Piang not only has instituted changes in the political structure and the way public service is delivered but he also brought back the trust, confidence and the people's participation in governance.

"We are all exemplary in our respective ways and I feel very much honored in receiving this award. I wish to bring back this feat to my constituents who were the ones who put me in here," Piang said in an interview.

The mayor, who was once a teacher and a school principal, has worked as an advocate of peace in the culturally pluralistic community of Upi where he pioneered and institutionalized the tri-people way of conflict resolution- an innovative program of settling cross-tribe or within tribe conflicts of the community.

The awardees won P300,000 and a trophy each but all of the finalists received P75,000.

The 3rd Triennial awards evaluated at least 71 nominees and bought the validators and search committee to as far as the marshlands of Agusan, to multi-cultural regions of the Mindanao and the emerging provinces of the Visayas. - Jasmin R. Uy