Metrobank’s best public servants

These are trying times for public servants. The good news is that there are teachers, soldiers and police officers who defy hardships and pledge their lives to serve others. These men and women are being honored by Metrobank Foundation Inc. as heroes. Two weeks ago, the foundation presented before members of Bulong Pulungan sa Sofitel three of its 10 heroes for 2017.

The 2017 search for Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos yielded four teachers, three soldiers and three police officers. Each of them received P1 million, a trophy and a gold medallion. The search for the 2018 heroes has now begun. 

“Beyond professional accomplishments, we aim to look for everyday heroes who have gone beyond personal limitations to earn outstanding achievements,” MBFI president Aniceto Sobrepeña said at the press forum.

Since 1985, the foundation has honored a total of 655 Outstanding Filipinos – 360 teachers, 154 soldiers, and three police officers.

Three of the 2017 outstanding Filipinos were presented to media persons who themselves are privately looking for heroes in these hard times. One is Alonzo Gabriel, a full professor and University Scientist Assignment at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Lt. Col. Elmer Suderio is head executive assistant at the office of the Commanding General of the Philippine Army, and Police Chief Inspector Rosalino Ibay Jr. belongs to the District Intelligence and Operations Unit chief, Manila Police District.

Dr. Gabriel earned his BS in food technology and master’s degree in food science from UP Diliman. He received his Ph.D. in biofunctional science and technology and his Ph.D. in biofunctional science and technology, major in food microbiology and hygiene from Hiroshima University. He plays a crucial role in insuring food safety and security, particularly in the country where food in most Filipino households is a hotbed teeming with deadly organisms just awaiting an opportunity to infect society.

As a food science and technology professor at the University of the Philippines, he led the establishment of the country’s first and only Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Hygiene based at UP’s College of Home Economics. Since the laboratory’s establishment in 2010, the lab has been opened to students and faculty not just at the UP but also from other institutions. The lab has resulted in various research papers being published internationally by Dr. Gabriel, his students and fellow faculty. It has allowed Dr. Gabriel to pioneer novel technologies, such as the use of plasma and ultraviolet radiation in killing bacteria in food without destroying its nutrients.

An innovation being tested is the packaging of corn meal and viands. Already, his students have made vacuumed suman and powdered patis and kalamansi.

He was a member of the Philippine Food Defense Core Technical Working Group convened by the Department of Agriculture and the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2011, which produced the Philippine National Food Defense Standard as a response to global conflict situations. According to Gabriel, bioterrorism poses a real threat, as even a very small amount of contaminant in food can be used as weapon to harm the whole humankind. The guide, available online, is relevant to the needs of food manufacturing industries in the country that export their products.

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In his 28 years in the military service, Lt. Col. Suderio has served as soldier, administrator, academic, and development worker.

As commander of the 3rd Scout Ranger Batallion, he led a series of armed operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group terrorists in Basilan from 2015 to 2017. By neutralizing highly wanted terrorists and capturing enemy strongholds, he contributed to the improvement of peace and order in Basilan.

In 1998, Lt. Col. Suderio was company commander of the 12th Scout Ranger Company, a newly formed company in Basilan whose more than 100 problematic soldiers were mostly rejects from other scout ranger companies. He transformed the 12th SRC into a disciplined and cohesive unit, developing their combat skills and while implementing welfare programs to maintain high morale. The 12th SRC was eventually judged the best Company of the Scout Ranger Regiment.

Lt. Col. Suderio led the conceptualization of a three-unit subject for the Philippine Military Academy curriculum, titled MA 341 or “Unit Administration” in 2006 to prepare cadets to tackle administrative functions in a military unit. The course is now a major subject for members of the Navy and Air Force.

To win hearts and minds toward achieving a just and lasting peace,  Suderio worked to provide alternative livelihood opportunities for Moro National Liberation Front returnees after the organization signed a peace treaty with the government in 1998. He also helped local chief executives and community stakeholders to implement medical missions and community support programs, thus helping bridge gaps between the military and the community.

Among his many awards are the Gold Cross Medal for leading the 12th SRC against the ASG and a Gawad sa Kaunlaran medal for his civic action programs.

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Police Chief Inspector, now chief of Manila Police District’s Intelligence and Operation Unit, Rosalino Ibay Jr. led numerous operations against the most notorious criminals in Tondo, including cases of robbery, murder, human trafficking, syndicated illegal recruitment, and prostitution. He also led operations to confiscate various counterfeit products such as diplomas and licenses, and was instrumental in the resolution of unprecedented carnapping cases in Manila, considered the carnapping capital of the Philippines.

He developed the Manila CRV Facebook Page – a digital platform where stolen vehicles are posted and netizens are notified of recent developments in real time.

Beyond police work, Ibay authored the Barangay Management System, which files and organizes personal information records of all barangay residents. This makes tracking of residents and identification of criminals more convenient. To date, 35 barangays have been using the BMS.

He was judged “best provincial chief” during his stint in Davao del Norte’s Regional Highway Patrol Group in 2011, and Best Junior PCO in 2013 and 2015. He has served the police force for 20 years. He has a BS criminology degree from the Philippine College of Criminology and his master’s in public administration at the Philippine College of Health Sciences.

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Nicanor L. Torres Jr., executive director of Metrobank Foundation, announced the criteria for nominees for the 2018 awards which will be given in September. The nominees must be responsible citizens, exemplary public servants and are agents of positive change and influence.

Deadline of submission is March 1. Nominations may be sent to Metrobank branches across the country and Metrobank Foundation, 4F Metrobank Plaza, Sen. Gil Puyat Ave, 1200 Makati City.

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Email: [email protected].