1ST Justice German Lee, Jr. leadership awards Eco lawyer, 2 others are first awardees

CEBU, Philippines - Fifteen years after his death, the surviving family of a late justice decided to continue their patriarch’s cause to bring about participatory social awareness.

The 1st Justice German Lee Jr. Leadership Awards were given to three individuals who, the Lee family believes, have contributed to society through their advocacies.

“This is just in time for my father’s 15th death anniversary. He died a hero. He gave his life to save others. He could have saved his own life being trained for emergencies. When the ship sank, he was the highest government official on board,” eldest son Joel Lee explained.

Understandably, it took almost two decades before the family openly discussed about the late justice’s death being one of the casualties of M/V Princess of the Orient.

“There were a lot of controversies that happened right after. But despite being hanging, these have died down now and so our family believes that this is the time to talk about his life,” the younger Lee said adding the awardees’ lives must reflect that of his father who was known to bring a whistle since he would personally man traffic if the situation called for.

Furthermore, the award was created to inspire the citizens, especially the young, to actively and responsibly participate in social issues and along the way become leaders themselves.

“We want leaders who are willing to change the mindset. Our goal is to get them to mentor the younger ones. Leadership should not be by chance,” Lee stressed.

Ecology lawyer Gloria Estenzo-Ramos, women empowerment advocate Dr. Rhodora Bucoy, and bicycle enthusiast Ryan “RyeKido” Noval were recognized by the Lee family, who chose the people to award based on similarity in the late justice in terms of advocacy by example.

Ramos was named “Tigpanalipud sa Kalikupan” (Defender and Advocate of the Natural Environment), Bucoy “Manlalaban sa Kababayen-an (Defender and Advocate of Women’s Rights), while Noval “Higala sa Katilingban” (Friend of the Community and Advocate for Common Good).

Ramos, most notable for legally battling the provincial government in its coal-fired power plant venture with a Korean power company, said the award is “very meaningful considering the award was named after a hero.”

“This award is a recognition of so many stakeholders. Ako lang siguro ang nakapangalan but I share this with everyone who has been with me from the very start,” Ramos told reporters.

University of the Philippines (UP) professor Bucoy was awarded because of her unwavering cause of women empowerment dating back to Martial Law era.

“Empowerment is a very long process,” said Bucoy who opines Cebuano women have significantly improved in terms of being empowered being aware of their rights as well as violations against them.

Noval, the youngest awardee at 38, was chosen for possessing this innate strong influence to the youth especially in his hobby-turned-advocacy of road equality through his organization named Critical Mass Cebu which is slowly expanding to other cities like Dumaguete in neighboring Negros Oriental.

“For me, I don’t care about award. What’s important is that the passion continues and I am able to infect other people, like-minded people to raise awareness and do something for road sharing and taking care of our environment,” Noval said. — (FREEMAN)