Who will be this year’s Best Nanays?

Every child believes his or her mother is the best mother — and every day, we constantly find ways to honor mothers for being the exemplary, nurturing women that they are. This is basically why the Make Your Nanay Proud (MYNP) Foundation came up with its Best Nanay Awards, to give recognition to mothers who have been a positive influence on the people around them.

This year, the foundation is again honoring Filipino mothers who embody these values. Nominations were sent in based on a set of criteria that included a mother’s inspiring story, her integrity and character, and her positive influence on family and people in general. People all over the country were allowed to nominate practically anyone who is a mother, and not just their own. They were invited to nominate their nanays, lolas, yayas, even neighbors — anyone with a positive story to share.

The awards criteria were anchored on three questions or points: First, what makes the nominee an outstanding mother? Second, how did her character and morality influence her child? The final measure was “the positive impact she has had on her family, friends and people in general.”

As with last year’s awards — where the awardees included women from their 40s to their 90s — this year, 10 awardees will be chosen and will receive a cash prize, a handcrafted trophy and gift certificates. The nominations, which closed last August, are currently being reviewed in preparation for the release of this year’s batch of winners.

But doesn’t every child think his mother is the best, and therefore every nanay should be an awardee? “Definitely, we quantify nanays generally as ‘best’ but what we are trying to achieve here is to honor nanays who have been a positive influence to family and community through their positive and significant experiences, upbringing of family, work and involvement in the community,” explains Bemz Benedito, managing director of the MYNP Foundation.

Besides, points out Bemz, the awards are beside the point. The Best Nanay Awards 2015 are not so much about the prizes or the recognition the winners will receive, but about sending out a bigger, more important message. It’s more about the actual experiences a mother has had — everything she’s been through — and how she has made the best of those experiences, for the benefit of the people around her and her community. The foundation sought out those nanays and will be holding them up as an example to inspire other mothers and their children into making a positive impact on their homes, places of work and where they live. That is what makes a nanay “best” in their eyes.

That is what they seek to honor. “What makes a nanay ‘best’ is not the number of awards or citations she has received or the educational attainment she has gained, but more of her experiences and journeys that she has traversed through time and how she triumphantly conquered them in a positive way,” says Bemz. “Doon mas nakatutok ang MYNP, sa karanasan niya at paano nila ito nagawang positibo sa huli at naging inspirasyon sila ng kanilang mga pamilya at komunidad.”

Bemz, a transgendered woman, knows whereof she speaks. Her mother Amelita Benedito, a former public schoolteacher, has always been supportive of Bemz and her endeavors. From her earliest years in Abra where she was born and raised, Bemz recalls that it was her parents’ — particularly her mother’s — encouragement that enabled her to fly and pursue her dreams and advocacies.

“That’s one thing that makes me proud of my nanay,” says Bemz. “I remember when she and my father talked to me when I was in grade school, and told me that they understood my gender identity and assured me it was not an issue for them, and that it would pain them if someone will belittle, discriminate or judge me on that basis. Because of that, I felt so empowered, and that has always been my guiding principle as an LGBT rights activist and nanay advocate.”

So now, as part of MYNP, Bemz is busy doing her part, traveling all over the country, speaking to groups of mothers and children and sharing with them how they can honor their mothers and have a positive impact on the people around them as well.

The Best Nanay Awards is set today at JP Morgan BGC, Taguig City.