Heard It Through the GripeVine: Our New Abnormal
A few Sundays ago, I wrote about how the Manila Bulletin was embarking on a new initiative on its 122nd year; one that was centered on recognizing the people and institutions that had done great work in the past year, and encouraged us to rise above the doldrums of the lingering pandemic. We called it our UPLIFT project, as an acronym for those that had helped us Unite, who Perform, Lead, Inspire, brought Focus, and Trend. Spread across 10 distinct categories of Public Service, Big Business, the MSME’s, Sports, Arts Culture & Education, Entertainment, Agriculture, Science & Technology, e-Commerce, and Healthcare; it was a challenging task to have our section editors come up with a shortlist of nominees per category, as there are so many excellent choices.
Just last week, we completed the final deliberations and judging, and you’ll be seeing in the weeks to come, our maiden year roster of awardees. And early on in this column, I’d like to give a shout-out to the current roster of co-presenters and major sponsors, who have helped make this pipe dream of last year, an impending reality. ICTSI, GCash, SMDC, Wilcon, The Medical City, Lexus, Moët & Chandon (LVMH); you were there from the outset, believing in this Manila Bulletin vision; and while I’m hoping there’ll still be others joining you, we are eternally grateful for the trust and commitment.
On the final round of judging, which was held virtually; on behalf of the Manila Bulletin, I’d like to thank Dr. Jaime Laya, Sen. Sonny Angara, and Joanna Mojica, who joined Emil Yap and myself. Sifting through the nominees, the repast prepared and sent to our homes by Manila Hotel, was a welcome addition to the evening that was both educational, yet light and enjoyable. The invaluable support of MBrand, of Rey Ilagan, Dominic Galeon, and Jaime Misalucha, ensured that everything went smoothly.
3 of the 10 UPLIFT awardees; (l-r) Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz, Mayor Abby Binay representing the City Governmemt of Makati, and AGREA Philippines President and Founding Farmer Cherrie J. Atilano.
I love the diversity and gender inclusivity that characterize our awardees - and since it’s Women’s Month in two days, I think it’s only right that we highlight today, the women who made it past the final hurdle, and can be staunchly counted among our very first batch of UPLIFT Awardees.
In the Sports category, I don’t think it’ll come as a surprise to find our very first Olympian Gold Medal winner being honored. Hidilyn Diaz is the proverbial shoo-in, given how unique her achievement is, and how she truly gripped and inspired a whole nation that fateful Monday night. But I’d just like to make the comment here that she’s only one of a bevy of women athletes who truly excelled and inspired us in 2021.
From her sport of weightlifting, to boxing, on to golf and tennis; I was only half-joking when I wrote before the Olympics, and commented that we’d be better off sending a Philippines contingent composed primarily of women athletes. These women athletes are either more driven and committed, or have a chip on their collective shoulders for constantly being downplayed; but they perform like there’s no tomorrow, seizing the day, and opportunity, with true valor.
In the category of e-Commerce, which became such an integral part of, and invaluable tool for, our surviving the COVID-crisis; we opted to look for those government institutions and LGU’s that embraced digitalization, and brought true inclusivity along with the technological shift. It’s all fine and good to move retail products and show off entrepreneurial skills in the online arena; but our focus was on who led the way in making essential services and benefits still readily available and accessible, during the year that was.
Mayor Abby Binay, and the City Government of Makati are recognized for being one of the sterling examples of how an LGU can respond, and still be relevant despite community quarantines and ECQ’s. From financial support, to COVID-19 vaccinations, and the special support and benefits senior citizens are eligible for; Makati and the Makatizen app, made everything become just a click away. As a Makatizen myself, I’m a living witness to how easy it was to register for my vaccination, and how efficient and orderly it transpired. And by working with GCash, what financial issues the city government of Makati might have had, were hurdled with ease.
In the category of MSME’s; AGREA came out on top, for their unwavering efforts in promoting the importance of farming, agriculture, and food sustainability. Cherrie Atilano, president & founding farmer of AGREA, has been pushing the idea of making our country agriculturally sustainable, built on the One Island Economy model, that’s guided by three major goals, Zero Hunger, Zero Waste, and Zero Insufficiency.
Believing the Filipino farmers are world class, their aim is to transfer knowledge of the type that can lead to a diversified integrated farming system. Their first AGREA farm estate in Marinduque has been accredited by the Department of Agriculture and by TESDA as a farm school, and assessment center for agricultural technical vocational skills development. Cherrie herself graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture, major in Horticulture Specializing in Tissue Culture from the Visayas State University in Leyte.
One more of the fairer sex, but technically not a woman yet, is sharing an award with her father. I’ll write about them, plus the other categories in the Sundays to come. Happy Women’s Month, everyone! It shouldn’t be just about women celebrating their own, but about all of us recognizing what women do.