This developed as Mrs. Arroyo feted three outstanding women for their various achievements — National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) Commissioner Myrna Yao, the first Asian president of Zonta International Olivia Ferry and Miss International 2005 Precious Lara Quigaman.
Yao and Ferry were conferred the Presidential Medal of Merit while Quigaman will receive the Order of Lakandula with the rank of "Champion for Life."
The Filipino gold medalists in the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) and three Filipinos who planted the Philippine flag at the summit of Mt. Everest will also receive the "Champion for Life" award from Mrs. Arroyo, as well as boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.
However, the names of the Everest conquerors to be awarded were not yet released in the list of awardees.
"I really don’t know. There is a committee that looks into that. The executive order is general, the names will depend on whether they meet the criteria. That is up to the search committee," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said.
Abenojar said he was the first Filipino to make it to the Everest summit and not Heracleo "Leo" Oracion and Erwin "Pastour" Emata of the First Philippine Mount Everest Expedition (FPMEE) and solo climber Romeo Garduce.
Oracion, Emata and Garduce reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain in a dramatic race up the mountain’s south face while Abenojar took the more difficult north face route and said he reached the summit two days before the FPMEE climbers.
Abenojar’s claims are still under dispute by the other mountaineers who reached the Mt. Everest summit.
Under Executive Order No. 540, President Arroyo said it is proper to recognize outstanding achievements in sports competitions, beauty pageants and other fields of competition "that foster extraordinary national pride and inspiration toward excellence."
Mrs. Arroyo also reiterated her "sincere call for national unity" as she conferred the awards upon the three women.
She asked everyone to come together "for the sake of these working women — so that we can create jobs for them right here in the Philippines, so that a job abroad is an option like for Lara’s (Quigaman’s) mother and not a necessity."
Yao, who is also chief operating officer of Richwell Trading that is one of the country’s largest manufacturers and distributors of children’s toys, was recognized for winning the 2006 International Entrepreneur Award given by the Global Summit of Women.
Ferry, on the other hand, distinguished herself as the first Filipino president of Zonta International, a global service organization of executives in business and the professions working together across political and social boundaries to advance the status of women worldwide.
Mrs. Arroyo has ordered the release of P1 million each to the NCRFW and the Philippine Madrigal Singers to help promote their social and cultural causes.
Mrs. Arroyo said the first release of P1 million sourced from the President’s Social Fund will be used to align the various programs of the NCRFW with that of other civic-oriented clubs such as Zonta International to make it more responsive to women’s issues.
She asked Yao to "strengthen the connection between the programs of the NCRFW with those of other women’s clubs especially Zonta in the Philippines to respond to women’s issues."
The President also asked Yao to "fight poverty at the family level, check violence against women, push the pro-life family planning strategy, and celebrate the women behind our economic vision."
The second P1 million, which will come from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), will be given to the Madrigal Singers "to promote the momentum of their excellence."
The Madrigal Singers returned victorious from Europe, where they won the Grand Prize at the Florilege Vocal de Tours 2006 held in Tours, France on June 4.
The group was awarded First Prize in the Mixed Vocal Ensemble Category and in the Free Program Category. They also received the Prix Special Renaissance, a separate category for purely Renaissance renditions.
The group bested 14 other choirs earning them the Grand Prize de la Ville de Tours — an award given to the most satisfactory overall performance during the competition.
The award has given the Madrigals the chance to compete in the 2007 European Grand Prix in Choral Singing.