Triennal Awards: Fostering changes from within

Tonight is the 4th Triennial Awards Night of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) held at the Casino Español where among the top finalists for this very prestigious event, we will get to know the next batch of the Don Ramon Aboitiz Exemplary Individual Awardee and the Eduardo Aboitiz Outstanding Institution Awardee.

Allow me to mention the finalists for Exemplary Individual, Dr. Chelsa R. Cacaldo, Rural Health Physician Province of Negros Oriental; Dr. Ray Catague, Provincial Health Officer III Integrated Provincial Health Office-Cotabato; Ms. Wilhelmina Gonzales, President of the Negros Economic Development Foundation, Inc. (NEDF); Mr. Glicerio Lucrecia of Zamboanga del Sur and Dr. Gerardo Maxino.

The Outstanding Institution Finalists are, Mr. Achilles Bayano of Agusan del Sur, Mrs. Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, Visayan Forum Foundation, Inc. (Vis-Min) Mr. Crisanto Amper, of FREELAVA Cebu City Mr. Leonardo Moneva of the Mag-uugmad Foundation, Inc. Cebu City and Mr. Mario Victor Baang of the SOS Children’s Village (SOS-DV).

Top honorees for the 4th Triennial Awards is in the hands of Mr. Joe Mercado, Chairman of the Search Committee. He said it took three long years to search the Visayas and Mindanao to get the top finalists and process them. In my book, these finalists are winners in the hearts and minds of the community that they have served. They are doing what they doing not to win awards, but to help the least of our brethren. They truly are the unsung heroes of our time.

While tonight we will honor the 4th batch of Triennial Awardees (this is akin to the Nobel Awards for Social Development) last Wednesday, the executives of RAFI chaired by Sir Roberto “Bobby” Aboitiz went further to exploit the idea of holding a summit of stakeholders to foster a dialogue or exchange notes amongst themselves.

Thus we joined the 1st Triennial Awards Summit at the Sacred Heart Center with the motto “Leaders of Change Summit”. I looked around the various jampacked conference rooms of the Sacred Heart Center, it might as well be EDSA IV although not on the streets, but inside the conference rooms. I saw a diverse group of people who joined the Summit with hope in their hearts and seeking ways to institute change in our people and our nation. For instance the Center of Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE) showed us a video on how this school run by Opus Dei proves that education can help move students away from the vicious cycle of poverty.

There were various topics of great interest to all social groups. For instance, a topic on leading change in the community: Mobilizing people and fostering community self-reliance. In another conference room, the topic was, Preparing for the future scenario, facing the challenge of climate change. In the next room, the topic was on Bridging gaps, leading the way towards growth and sustainability. Then there was the topic on addressing the food crisis and ensuring long-term food security.

The afternoon sessions were on Building our youth for the future, building out future for the youth. In the Conference room the topic was Advancing the welfare of women, children, and youth—providing opportunities for the development of their potentials. On Health Care, the topic was Caring for the unreached, promoting health and wellness. On the promotion of peace, the discussion focused on Promoting understanding amidst diversity, securing peace and prosperity. Finally there was the promotion of Equality entitled engaging the poor, building wealth at the bottom of the pyramid. The other term for this is poverty alleviation.

Allow me to sum up what I thought about this very successful 1st Triennial Summit. It is the launching pad for another one and I predict that it would even be bigger. A summit like this is a place where people can show what they’ve been doing so that others may follow their example.

However often, it is also a forum that grandstanding politicians love to join, perhaps because they’re lacking in recognition. There was this mayor who refused to heed the moderator, demanding that she shouldn’t stop him. I stood up to put the fellow in his place, that the problems of our country are not necessarily economic. If at all, the biggest change that we ought to adopt is a change in our attitude towards our own people and treat them in a true Christian way, looking at their hearts, not what’s inside their pockets. Then we will move forward as a people and as a nation.