2 lawmakers, CNN hero, Noy's cousin top TOYM awardees

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, CNN Hero 2009 Efren Peñaflorida and a cousin of President Aquino were among the recipients of this year’s prestigious Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awards.

The awardees received their trophies from Aquino in a ceremony held at Rizal Hall of Malacañang. Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales led the board of judges.

“It’s a great honor and at the same time there are great challenges and expectations that hopefully we can all live up to,” said the 38-year-old lawyer son of Sen. Edgardo Angara, a former colleague of Aquino in the Senate.

“It’s an honor for our province, being the first Auroran to win, and I think it also brings honor to the House, which is the institution I belong to, because it is an acknowledgment that we can make a difference in the lives of our constituents,” the younger Angara said.

On Cayetano, Aquino told reporters they were only adversaries in the last presidential elections and that they don’t have to fight “kung hindi niyo kami pag- aawayin (if you don’t pit us against each other).”

“This was not my first meeting with Alan (since becoming president). When I did report to the Senate in my last days of office, he was the first person I saw when the session resumed,” Aquino said.

Cayetano, 39, was an ally of Aquino’s rival in the presidential race, Sen. Manny Villar of the Nacionalista Party. 

Aquino and Cayetano had also been colleagues in the House of Representatives. Aquino was Tarlac representative while Cayetano represented Taguig. They won Senate seats in 2007.

Angara was awarded for his role in government service (legislative), Cayetano for government and public service (public accountability and transparency), Peñaflorida for grassroots education and community service.

Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, Aquino’s cousin, was cited for social enterprise and community development, Harvey Keh for public education and good governance, Therese “Gang” Badoy for alternative education and youth leadership.

Maria Rachelle Gerodias for arts and music (classical), Edsel Maurice Salvana for medicine and social activism, Beatrice Valdes for fashion design and enterpreneurship and Jun Yupitun for enterpreneurship in pioneer studies.

Aquino’s martyred father, Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., was himself a TOYM awardee some 50 years ago for public service.

This year’s theme was “Heroes Create Heroes.”

The TOYM awards recognize outstanding individuals who excel in their professions and make a difference in the lives of people in their communities and in the country in general.