STAR's Miguel Belmonte, 2 columnists get awards

MANILA, Philippines - The STAR’s president and CEO Miguel Belmonte, and columnists Paolo Alcazaren and Dr. Willie Ong received awards recently.

Belmonte and his father, Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., received awards from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) during its 70th founding anniversary yesterday.

The QCPD, aside from awarding outstanding police officials and officers, also recognized government and non-government organizations and individuals who have been supportive of the city police.

Among those also given recognition were members of the city council, the QCPD Press Corps, the Quezon City Association of Filipino-Chinese Businessmen Inc., Greenpeace Southeast Asia, and Soroptimist International of Quezon City.

The police officials given awards by QCPD director Chief Superintendent Elmo San Diego were Senior Superintendent Audie Arroyo (Senior Police Officer of the Year); Superintendent Arnel Olivares (Staff Officer of the Year); Station 4 commander Superintendent Ramon Perez (Station Commander of the Year); District Police Intelligence Operating Unit head Superintendent Marcelino Pedrozo Jr. (Operating Unit Chief of the Year); and Traffic Enforcement Unit head Superintendent Rudie Valoria (Support Unit Chief of the Year).

Professional excellence

At the awarding ceremonies of the Philippine Federation of Professional Associations (PFPA) held at the Manila Hotel Monday, Alcazaren, an architect writing for The STAR’s Lifestyle Section, and Ong, who writes for The STAR’s Health and Family Section, were both given the Excellence Award.

PFPA president Rear Admiral Adonis Donato said the award is the highest that could be given to a professional by the PFPA, an umbrella organization of 43 professional organizations representing more than a million registered professionals in the Philippines including architects, engineers, teachers, accountants, nurses and others.

Ong was cited for his charity work and medical missions for the past 15 years including the Pasay Filipino-Chinese Charity Health Center, The STAR’s socio-humanitarian arm, Operation Damayan, and ABS-CBN’s Salamat Dok. Since 2007, Ong and his wife, Dr. Liza Ong, have been full-fledged pro bono doctors, giving their medical services for free to all patients.

In 2004, Ong initiated the “Doctor’s Covenant” with the Philippine College of Physicians and the Philippine Medical Association, wherein 1,900 Filipino doctors pledged to stay and serve the country for three years. Ong and his family also established the Co Tec Tai Medical Museum in Pasay City, the first medical museum open to the public for free.       – Reinir Padua