JCI Philippines names TOYM awardees for 2015

MANILA, Philippines - The Junior Chamber International (JCI) Philippines, together with the TOYM Foundation and the Gerry Roxas Foundation, recently concluded its much-awaited search for The Outstanding Young Men and Women in the Philippines for 2015.

Each hailing from 10 distinct fields of expertise, the 10 young men and women were handpicked from a total of 106 nominees which were screened by the 2015 TOYM search committee headed by businessman and philanthropist Joseph Agustin Tanco. TOYM 2013 honoree for community development Chaye Cabal-Revilla led the screening panel.

Currently one of the most prestigious awards in the country, the TOYM seeks to give national recognition to individuals between the ages of 18-40 whose selfless dedication to their profession or vocation has resulted in significant contributions to their countrymen, as well as to the advancement of their fields of endeavor.

Already on its 56th year, the 2015 TOYM awards also marked when TOYM embraced the digital trend by allowing the use of social media to accept all nominations, even from Filipinos abroad.

However, before going digital, TOYM had already recognized more than 400 individuals in the last five decades for triumphs in the arts, public service, education and science.

Among the 10 awardees are former BIR examiner Raymond Abrea, a prominent advocate of genuine tax reform, and Jose Aliling, the CEO of Jose Aliling Construction Management Group of Companies and one of the country’s most trusted engineers and construction managers.

Also recognized were Barney Almazar, a Dubai-residing lawyer who devotes most of his legal practice to protect and advocate the rights of migrant Filipino workers in the Middle East, and Nico Nolledo, one of the most successful technopreneurs in the country and the CEO of mobile content provider Xurpas Inc.

Meanwhile, Donald Lim is considered the founder of digital marketing in the Philippines and has been conferred multiple awards and recognition for his digital marketing work for brands, businesses and advocacies.

In the field of education, Geoffrey Chua and Roderick Salenga were both recognized for their excellence and intensive contributions. Chua, presently a tenure-track assistant professor at the Nanyang Business School (Nanyang Technological University) in Singapore, has published six papers in top-tier international journals. He has also been invited and has reviewed at least 30 papers written by other scientists for at least 10 different journals.Salenga, on the other hand, is an associate professor at the University of the Philippines’ College of Pharmacy who has devoted his work to constantly improve the practice of pharmacy in the country. Aside from introducing several breakthrough academic models for pharmacy students, Salenga has also given over 70 local and international conference presentations and has completed several publications on themes of quality use of medicines, drug accessibility, pharmaceutical education, and public health policies.

Pioneering medical technology innovation, Rogelio Santos Jr., a Filipino-American entrepreneur who cofounded Amylex, has been involved in innovative nanomolecular research and clinical studies in the field of Alzheimer’s and other diseases.

Patricia Evangelista, multimedia journalist with local online publication Rappler, was among those recognized as well. She has won six international and nine local awards, produced nine television programs and over a dozen documentaries and wrote for seven online and print publishers.

Lastly, Sofronio Fortich Jr. is a respected pianist, composer and musical director in the local theater scene in Manila. In Hong Kong, however, he is the musical director of Hong Kong Disneyland who holds the banner high for Filipinos to bring happiness to the millions of visitors who come to the park.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro led the board of judges composed of former Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, 1978 TOYM awardee for contemporary music Ryan Cayabyab, 1988 TOYM awardee for agriculture research Dr. William Dar, 2000 TOYM awardee for business leadership Lance Gokongwei, 1979 TOYM awardee for medicineDr. Enrique Ona, and 1974 TOYM awardee for sports Eugene Torre.