Metrobank Foundation awards exceptional Filipinos
MANILA, Philippines — At the heart of every nation-building endeavor are exemplary public servants who respond to the call for collective action and render service above and beyond their call of duty.
They are the Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos — models of excellence in the academic, security, and peace and order sectors. They are the country’s educators, peacekeepers and defenders who are beckoned to serve, heedless of reward or distinction, instead deriving meaning from being a person for others.
This year, Metrobank, through the Metrobank Foundation, Inc. (MBFI), awards yet another batch of outstanding Filipinos: four teachers, three soldiers and three police officers who embody the words “Beyond Excellence” and whose meaningful work raise the bar of excellence in their fields. They join the ranks of 665 outstanding public servants recognized since 1985.
Each awardee received a cash prize of P1 million, a gold medal and “The Flame” trophy during the ceremonies at the Metrobank Plaza Auditorium in Makati City as part of bank’s 57th anniversary.
Progressively losing her hearing at 35, Dorothy Tarol has shifted her teaching career to cater to students with disabilities. Photo Release
Iloilo-based teacher Dr. Dorothy Tarol’s story reflects her solid stance on inclusive education. Progressively losing her hearing at 35, Tarol has shifted her teaching career to cater to students with disabilities at the Special Education-Integrated School for Exceptional Children (SPED-ISEC) in Iloilo City.
The legacy of Dr. Cristina Cristobal, Special Science Teacher 5, at the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) can be best captured by her initiative to inspire changes to the students’ perspective toward learning history. She introduced a teaching strategy that requires Grade 7 learners to use primary sources in studying history.
Acclaimed historian Dr. Ricardo Jose, currently a Professor 12 at University of the Philippines Diliman, has spent 40 years filling the gaps in the country’s past, more profoundly on the subjects of Philippine diplomatic history, Philippine military history, the Philippines under the US colonial rule, and the tie between the Philippines and Japan.
Dr. Eva Maria Cutiongco-de la Paz, Professor 10 at the College of Medicine, UP Manila and Executive Director of the National Institutes of Health, has dedicated her 22 years in the teaching profession to a branch of biology concerned with the study of genes called genomics.
As an explosives expert, MSgt. Ramil Caporas PA involves safeguarding communities from bomb threats. Photo Release
The two-decade career in ordinance service of explosives expert MSgt. Ramil Caporas PA involves safeguarding communities from bomb threats. He was deployed in Marawi for the whole duration of the siege. He led a team of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) experts tasked to recover and dispose Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and Unexploded Ordnances (UXOs) during the five-month battle.
Nineteen years into the military service, Maj. Romulo Dimayuga II has held a number of key positions as a Marine officer and has rendered game-changing contributions to the military. His stints as Intelligence Officer of Marine Battalion Landing Team-4 and Operations Officer of Marine Battalion Landing Team-12 marked his crucial role in the successful counter-communist insurgency operations against armed lawless groups in Northern Palawan.
Lt. Col. John Paul Baldomar’s 22 years of service in the military is best summed up by these words: “a heart that puts the nation and its people first.” In 2014, he was designated as Chief of the Strategic Communications Branch under the AFP’s Office for Strategic Studies and Strategy Management. He, together with the team, steered the development and implementation of the AFP Transformation Roadmap strategic communication plan called “Horizon 1.”
A licensed social worker, P/CMSgt. Marsha Agustin’s legacy in the police force, particularly at the Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) of Camp Crame, involves the union of police and social work. With her lead, WCPC has adopted an interviewing technique, dubbed as the “Social Worker-Police Investigative Technique in Handling Cases Involving Women and Children Victims.”
P/Col. Edwin Quilates believes that his badge stands for his oath to channel all his energies into combating crime in all its forms. Photo Release
With illegal activities pervading the cyberspace, cybercrime is the area that P/Maj. Robert Reyes intends to bring to fore. His career accomplishments can be traced back to his being a pioneer of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group in 2013, born out of the Republic Act 10175 “Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.” He helped develop the unit’s operational and administrative manual outlining the guidelines or protocols for cybercrime investigation.
P/Col. Edwin Quilates believes that his badge stands for his oath to channel all his energies into combating crime in all its forms. Currently the Provincial Director of the Batangas Police Provincial Office, Quilates’ mission to make the province crime-free paved the way for the launch of Oplan Iron Curtain, colloquially known as lockdown, in 2018. Premised on unified command and coordination, this approach is hailed as best practice, and is key to the successful arrests of notorious criminals, resulting to lower crime rate in the province and in the entire CALABARZON region.
The 2019 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos demonstrate that the opportunities to serve abound; each one, regardless of sector, is beckoned to live up to their definition of service for the nation.
