LINGAYEN, Pangasinan ,Philippines – Six Pangasinenses who have made a distinguishing mark in their respective fields were ho-nored with the ASNA Awards during the Agew na Pangasinan (Pangasinan Day) celebration here last Wednesday.
The Balitok awards, the highest given as they denote gold in the Pangasinan language, were Hilarion Henares Jr. (national economic development) and lawyer Gabriel Singson (business/banking and finance).
Henares, an economist, educator, businessman and writer, is a grandson of Daniel Maramba, a revolutionary hero and the seventh governor of Pangasinan. Singson was the first governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The four other ASNA awardees were Ermin Garcia Jr. (journalism), Jose Datuin (visual arts), Amadeo Perez Jr. (government service/public administration), and retired Gen. Jose Magno (military service).
Garcia is the publisher of the hard-hitting Sunday Punch newspaper and former publisher of Manila Times; Datuin, an international visual artist, and Perez, the chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan.
“We take pride in your lives and works which have touched the lives of your provincemates, and you make us all proud,” Gov. Amado Espino Jr. said in his message.