2 Filipinos among Magsaysay awardees

Updated 00:49am (Mla time) Aug 03, 2004
By Dona Pazzibugan, Madonna T. Virola
Inquirer News Service

Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the August 3, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer



ONE IS a prominent lawyer, professor of law and public official known for her honesty and vigor; the other is a low-profile volunteer worker assisting indigenous people, drawn as he is to their spartan simplicity.

These two Filipinos -- Haydee Yorac, chair of the Philippine Commission on Good Government (PCGG), and Benjamin Abadiano, president of the Ilawan Center for Peace and Sustainable Development -- are among the seven recipients this year of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

Yorac has been elected to receive the RMA for government service and Abadiano, for emergent leadership.

The five other "remarkable Asians" are Jiang Yanyong of China, for public service; Prayong Ronnarong of Thailand, for community leadership; Abdullah Abu Sayeed of Bangladesh, for journalism, literature and creative communication arts; Laxminarayan Ramdas of India and Ibn Abdur Rehman of Pakistan, for peace and international understanding.

RMA Foundation picked the awardees for "their purposeful leadership, unwavering convictions, and earnest compassion towards their fellowmen."

The award is given yearly to individuals or organizations in Asia who "manifest the same sense of selfless service that ruled that life of the late and beloved Filipino leader."

"In a world increasingly burdened by conflict, inequity and cynicism, these remarkable Asians are acting boldly and effectively to address critical concerns in ways that inspire collaboration and hope," noted foundation president Carmencita T. Abella.

Since the awards were first given out in 1958, 36 have been won by the Philippines -- 29 individuals and seven institutions -- the second highest number by country, next only to India, which now has 42. There are now a total of 236 awardees.

This year's awardees will each receive a certificate, a medallion bearing the likeness of the late Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay in whose honor the award was established, and a cash prize of $50,000 (P2.8 million).

Unwavering

"Ms Yorac is being recognized for her building the people's confidence in government through service of exceptional integrity and rigor, and her unwavering pursuit of the rule of law in the Philippines," the foundation said yesterday in a statement.

Abadiano, 41, helped the Alangan Mangyan people of Mindoro island-province build their dream school in the nine years that he worked with them, starting in 1988. True to form, he has announced that he is not taking a single cent of the cash award for himself.

Jiang, a retired military doctor, is being cited for "his brave stand for truth in China, spurring life-saving measures to confront and contain the deadly threat of SARS."

Prayong led fellow farmers "in demonstrating that self-reliant local enterprises, supported by active community learning, are the path to rural prosperity in."

Sayeed is receiving the award for "his cultivating in the youth of Bangladesh a love for literature and its humanizing values through exposure to the great books of Bengal and the world."

Ramdas and Rehman are leaders of the Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy. Ramdas, former chief of his country's navy, and Rehman, a journalist and human rights advocate, are being recognized for "their reaching across a hostile border to nurture a citizen-based consensus for peace."

The awardees will speak in a series of public lectures to be held at the Ramon Magsaysay Center from Aug. 26 to Sept. 1.

As PCGG chief, Yorac, 63, is the latest to head government's efforts to recover the ill-gotten Marcos wealth. She is also well remembered for her stint as Commission on Elections commissioner from 1986 to 1993. In 1992, she was the Inquirer's "Filipino of the Year."

The feisty and outspoken lawyer was appointed to the Comelec after the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos was toppled in the first EDSA "people power" revolt in 1986. For a few months after the uprising, she was a member of the Presidential Committee on Human Rights.

She made a bid for the Senate in 1998, but lost. In July, 2001, shortly after the ouster of President Joseph Estrada, she was appointed PCGG chair

Early last year, Yorac came close to death. She suffered a stroke in January and, weeks later, underwent surgery for a cancerous ovarian growth. In May of the same year, she spent time in a hospital intensive care unit for severe pneumonia and kidney malfunction. Miraculously, she recovered and resumed working at home in July. Then she reported back to the PCGG office in September.

She is currently in the United States for a medical check-up and is due back on Aug. 26 -- just in time for the formal RMA presentation ceremonies on Aug. 31 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Unconditional

Abadiano told the Inquirer that he was giving all of his cash prize "to the community -- $30,000 to a scholarship grant for indigenous college students. The first two years will have the Alangan Mangyans as beneficiaries, then it will [be extended] to other tribes and communities all over the Philippines."

With the rest of the money, Abadiano said, he would start a center for volunteerism, side by side with a center for grass-roots leadership and with special focus on the IPs (indigenous peoples), particularly the Alangan Mangyans.

"This is a recognition not for myself but more for the community leaders who have shared with me their dreams and visions for their communities and for the children," he stressed. "Their vision became my guide in setting up the Tugdaan program (a Mangyan school in Mindoro, now called the Tugdaan Center for Human and Environmental Development). It is they who should be recognized."

Abadiano, a native of Cagayan de Oro City, also cited the commitment of Sister Victricia Pascasio of the Holy Spirit Mission. "She didn't belong to the community, but she was [always] there to support the initiatives."

The nun trusted him with the work "immediately," he said, though he did not have the necessary experience.

"Until now, no one has asked for my credentials." (He has a degree in sociology from the Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro).

In 1997, he left Mindoro to enter a Jesuit seminary in Manila. He also left the seminary eventually to work with Tabang Mindanao, coordinating programs for Christian, Muslim and Manobo war victims. But he has remained a consultant of the Tugdaan center.

The people with whom Abadiano has worked have one thing to say: He deserves the award.

"He has a unique leadership style. He is innovative, a risk-taker," said Joy Bae, administrative officer of the Mangyan Mission. "He is process-oriented, sensitive."

Added Emily Catapang, coordinator of Mangyan Heritage Center: "He is charismatic. The Mangyans and his fellow workers liked him instantly."

congratulations!

ang galing galing naman!

I hope that more Asians and Filipinos will win the future awards.

congratulations!

Congratulations to Ms. Haydee Yorac and Mr. Abadiano for winning the 2004 Ramon Magsaysay award!

galing naman

I think the awards wll be given to them during the awarding ceremonies.