A barrio doctor who gave his life to medical service, a teacher who worked beyond her call of duty and a simple family of volunteers who offered themselves to nation-building were honored with the prestigious Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Bayaning Filipino Awards, a recognition given by ABS-CBN and Ugat Foundation to give recognition to ordinary folks doing extraordinary deeds.
“We looked for people who have sacrificed themselves for the betterment of their community. These people placed community-service above themselves,” said Fr. Nilo E. Tanalega, Project Director of the awards that aim to honor outstanding Filipinos here and abroad.
Dr. Roel Cagape, a physician who spent most of his life to helping his countrymen, received the award for the Bayaning Pilipino – Individual category for his commitment to providing services to rural and far-flung areas in General Santos City. Aside from providing free medical services in his clinic daily, he also conducts weekly medical missions in mountainous regions. He also taught his community to use horses to transport patients during an emergency situation via his project called “Ambulansyang Kabayo”.
The Bayaning Pilipino – Guro category, meanwhile, honored Rebecca Ouano of Cebu City to recognize her 41 years of teaching, which she has spent on promoting and implementing an alternative learning system program to reach out-of-school youths, vendors and street children. She does voluntary teaching during weekends and conducts a daily supplementary feeding program to almost 200 street children.
The Gamez Family of Oriental Mindoro received the Bayaning Pilipino – Pamilya category award for their devotion to community service. Every member of their family has committed themselves to volunteer work and outreach programs.
The Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Bayaning Pilipino Awards also launched this year the Bayaning Pilipino Global, which honors organizations that do extraordinary services abroad, for the first time since its inception in 1995.
Winners of the Bayaning Pilipino Global include Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts and Culture (Canada), Pusong Pinoy (USA), Kapit-Bahayan Cooperative Limited (Australia), Sagip Migrante (Japan), Network of Filipino Social Development Workers for Migrants in Japan (Japan), Lahing Kayumanggi Dance Company (United Kingdom), and Filipino Badminton Committee Kuwait Philippines Inc (Kuwait).
The winners for both national and global categories were picked by this year’s prestigious Board of Judges headed by chairperson Sonia Roco, and members ABS-CBN Chairman and CEO, Eugenio Lopez III, Regina Lopez, Evelyn Caja, and Timothy Gabuna.
Watch the airing of the Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Bayaning Pilipino Awards ceremony this August on ABS-CBN. Held in Dolphy Theater, it was hosted by Ariel Ureta and Giselle Toengi with special performances by Kapamilya artists Erik Santos, Bugoy Drilon, Marcelito Pomoy, Jovit Baldivino, Angeline Quinto, the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra, beauty queens Shamcey Supsup and Janine Tugonon, and Ka Freddie Aguilar.
The Bayaning Pilipino Awards was established by the late Eugenio Lopez Jr., founder of ABS-CBN Corporation, the largest multimedia conglomerate in the Philippines to highlight the accomplishments of dedicated and determined Filipinos in the field of public service.