Yorac arrives from US in time to receive RM award

No illness can stop her from getting back into the thick of the action in government service and more importantly, to receive Asia’s most prestigious award.

The vigorous and principled Haydee Yorac arrived late Friday after a month of medical leave in the United States in time to attend the presentation ceremonies tomorrow for the seven recipients of this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Yorac, a peace advocate and chairwoman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), will be conferred the award for government service.

The former chairwoman of the Commission of Elections will also hold a public lecture on "making the rule of law work" at the RM Hall of the Ramon Magsaysay Center on Wednesday starting at 2 p.m.

Yorac was cited for "her building the people’s confidence in government through service of exceptional integrity and rigor and her unwavering pursuit of the rule of law in the Philippines."

She will be joined by fellow Filipino Benjamin Abadiano, a development worker cited for his work to bring peace and progress to the country’s indigenous peoples, and four other Magsaysay laureates at the presentation ceremonies to be held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines at 4:30 p.m.

The event is open to the public.

Dr. Jiang Yanyong, this year’s awardee for public service for his "brave stand for truth" in China amid the emergence of the SARS virus, will not be able to attend the ceremonies. Slowed by recent illnesses, the 63-year-old Yorac has had to work from her sickbed, even when she was abroad.

But Yorac is back full of vigor and her mind sharp as ever, according to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) as they welcomed her arrival.

Yorac, a lawyer and professor of law, suffered a mild stroke and had a bout with cancer early last year but incredibly recovered. She lost no time in buckling down to work from her home and left for the US last July for a much-deserved vacation and routine medical check-up.

Under Yorac’s watch, the PCGG recovered for the national treasury $683 million from Marcos’ Swiss bank accounts. It also secured court decisions favorable to the government regarding shares worth billions of pesos in the United Coconut Planters Bank and San Miguel Corp.

"These are the commission’s largest gains since its establishment — a boon both for the Philippine agrarian reform program and, not incidentally, for the country’s faith in justice," her citation read.

While many hundreds of cases with the PCGG remain unresolved, the feisty Yorac vows to continue to move them through the courts eagerly.

"Making a difference is enough," said Yorac.

Yorac is joined by Abadiano in the growing ranks of Filipinos cited by the RMAF for their leadership and selflessness in the service of others.

Since the awards were first given out in 1958, 36 Filipinos have received what is called Asia’s equivalent of a Noble Prize, second only to India. The seven 2004 awardees join 236 other laureates.

Abadiano will receive the award for Emergent Leadership, given to leaders not over 40 and not "broadly recognized" outside their communities.

The presentation ceremonies are held annually on Aug. 31, the birth anniversary of the late Philippine president. The awardees will each receive a medallion bearing the likeness of Magsaysay, a certificate and cash prize.