The real heroes in our midst

With so much badmouthing of the Filipino both in the country and in the international community, ironically instigated no less by many of our countrymen themselves who richly deserve the verbal abuse, a bit of good news comes as a whiff of fresh air once in a while.

Here is this brochure I got from the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency about its Search for Outstanding Volunteers whose chosen ones will be awarded in Manila on the 5th of December, which is National Volunteer Month.

The National Volunteer Month aims to build nationwide public awareness and appreciation of volunteerism and the role it plays in the social, economic and political development in the country.

It also hopes to create the environment for bolstering voluntary action in development and recognize the noble acts of volunteerism by individuals, families, institutions and communities as vital partners in economic and community development.

The Search for Outstanding Volunteers covers all Filipinos, whether individuals (adult and youth categories) or organizations (group category) currently providing voluntary service in the Philippines. For purposes of the search, a youth is one who is between 15-30 years of age.

Nomination forms can now be obtained from the PNVSCA or from the regional offices of the NEDA, CHED, DepEd, DILG and the Regional Planning and Development Office of the ARMM. Forms may also be downloaded at www.pnvsca.neda.gov.ph. The forms are free and may be reproduced.

Individuals and organizations can be nominated only once, with the following to be submitted in duplicate: Accomplished nomination form; certification of volunteer service issued by those who have first-hand knowledge of the volunteer work; certification of membership or membership ID for individuals; and SEC registration or accreditation by recognized institutions for organizations.

Also to be submitted are copies of local, national or international awards and citations received, any form of documentation of volunteer activities engaged in, and passport size photo of nominee with name in the back for individual volunteers, and photo and list of board of directors and members for volunteer organizations.

Volunteers and volunteer organizations cannot nominate themselves. Individuals and groups who have already been recipients of previous Search for Outstanding Volunteers national awards can no longer be nominated.

Regional nominations are to be submitted to the respective chairmen of the Regional Search Committees. Deadline for the submission of nominations to the Regional Search Committees is on September 2.

Aside from the Search for Outstanding Volunteers, the National Volunteer Month Steering Committee will also confer special recognition under the following categories:

Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Awards - to recognize individuals and groups who have consistently contributed, through their lifetime, time, effort and resources to volunteer services.

Special Citations in Corporate Volunteerism - to recognize the volunteer effort of the corporate and business sectors as a manifestation of their commitment to corporate social responsibility.

The regional awardees will receive certificates of recognition while the national awardees will be given trophies and provided round-trip transportation and accommodation for their attendance in the awarding ceremony.

The chairwoman of the Regional Search Committee for Central Visayas is Sandra V. Manuel, the Neda regional director, with offices at NEDA 7, Government Center, Sudlon, Lahug, Cebu City. The telephone number is 4147500.

So there, if you have anyone in mind of the often nameless Filipino individual or group volunteers who often do their work for country and countrymen without thought of any reward or publicity, now is the time to give them at least this pat in the back.

The nation is getting tired of public officials who gorge themselves on taxpayers' money, do nothing unless it is for their own personal interests, and grab all the credit that is often undeserved. It is time we recognize the people in the background, the real heroes in our midst.