Asia Society honors young Filipino leaders

MANILA, Philippines - The Asia Society, an organization based in New York that aims to promote international understanding and relations among the Asia-Pacific region, announced the new batch of honorees for its Philippines 21 Young Leaders Program.

It was at the Asia Society where current US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton first delivered the Obama administration’s policy statements on the Asian region. It was also at the Asia Society where former Senator Ninoy Aquino delivered his speech wherein he uttered the famous line, “The Filipino is worth dying for.” Every year the Asia Society gathers the top 200 young leaders of the Asia-Pacific region for its Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit, previously held in Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

As part of the selection for this year’s delegates to the summit, the Asia Society office in the Philippines screened more than 150 nominations of young Filipino leaders between 25 to 40 years old from different sectors such as the academe, business, government, non-profit, religious, military and culture and the arts.

According to Arnel Casanova, executive director of Asia Society-Philippines, the main criteria for selecting the top 10 Filipino young leaders are their leadership experience, achievements in their chosen field and service to the country. 

This year’s batch of Filipino honorees include Cecile Dominguez, Steve Arquiza, Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, Jose Romeo de la Cruz, Jaime Gonzalez, Ryan Guinaran, Dennis Gupa, Rommel Juan, Darwin Mariano and Efren Penaflorida.

All the fellows will represent the country at the Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit which will be held in November in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

For more information regarding the Asia Society’s Philippines 21 Young Leaders Program, send an email to [email protected]