Manila to honor STAR president and CEO

MANILA, Philippines - The city of Manila will honor The Philippine STAR president and chief executive officer Miguel Belmonte on June 24, Araw ng Maynila, as one of the “Ten Outstanding Manilans” during the celebration of the city’s 440th founding anniversary.

In a written statement, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim said the awardees, as in previous years, were chosen in recognition of their achievements and outstanding contributions to the progress of Manila.

Belmonte will be bestowed the award for “Print Media Advocacy.”

Aside from Belmonte, other awardees for this year are Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales for law and jurisprudence; Court of Appeals presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr. for judicial administration; Ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. for diplomacy and corporate leadership; Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Raul Bacalzo for public service and law enforcement/criminal justice system and police administration; Nina Lim-Yuson for culture and values formation; Andrew Tan for business entrepreneurship and management; GMA Network chairman and CEO Felipe Gozon for social responsibility in broadcasting; Fr. Jose Arcilla S.J. for education and history; and Dr. Emilio Yap III of Manila Bulletin for objective journalism.

Lim said this year’s awardees are recognized for serving as “sterling examples of what is the best and the brightest” and as inspiration for Filipinos.

Every year the city honors individuals who have excelled in their chosen field of endeavor and who are somehow rooted to the city either by birth, education or for reasons of work and livelihood, according to the mayor.

“The determining criterion is how they have willingly and unselfishly contributed to the development and progress of the city of Manila and its inhabitants,” Lim said.

He said that the awardees have, in one way or another, contributed largely to the successful implementation of the city government’s 11-point agenda, which includes free health services and medicine in the city’s six public hospitals, free college education at the City College of Manila and free burial services, among others.

Under Lim’s administration, free social services are offered for the needy from the time one is born up to the time he dies under the mayor’s “womb to tomb” program.