HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPE-VINE:OUR NEW ABNORMAL
When the Manila Bulletin staged its second annual UPLIFT Awards last week, there was a strong sense of vindication for what we had inaugurated just a scant year ago. UPLIFT is an acronym for Unite Perform Lead Inspire Focus and Trend, and back in the last quarter of 2021, the idea was to honor individuals and organizations, that across 10 distinct categories, had been the silver linings, the “uplifting” newsmakers – that had helped raise our spirits, and brought alleviation to what we had all been enduring under the shadow of the global health crisis.
The first Manila Bulletin UPLIFT Awards happened in early April of 2022, and our co-presenters and sponsors were unanimous in commending us for conjuring up this Awards night that was so different, and yet so apropos for the time. They loved how the 10 categories carried such relevance, and forever marked these achievers as being harbingers of hope for the year that had just passed.
AT THE UPLIFT AWARDS NIGHT, Manila Bulletin President Dr. Emilio C. Yap III (left), with Tessie Sy-Coson of the SM Group, the Wilcon Depot-Manila Bulletin UPLIFT Awardee for Big Business, and DOLE Sec. Bienvenido Laguesma, ICTSI-Manila Bulletin UPLIFT Awardee for Public Service.
In November of 2022, I was fortunate to be included in a MB contingent that Emil Yap brought to the regional WAN-IFRA (World Association of News Publishers) conference in Singapore, and the two most important trends recognized by a diversity of speakers were: 1) The sustainability message, and 2) how it was good, uplifting news, that the public were clamoring for. In a manner, we had been ahead of the curve in recognizing that, via the event we mounted in April. So it just made sense to institutionalize what we had started, and make the UPLIFT Awards a fixture in our calendar of events.
I’m forever grateful to Wilcon Depot, GCash, ICTSI, and The Medical City for returning as co-presenters for the 2023 UPLIFT Awards, and allowing us to shine the proverbial light on those who had made a difference in 2022. And what I personally found so appealing about our roster of 2023 awardees was that it was a mix of the obvious, the well-known and perennially recognized, along with those that fly under the radar, and yet tirelessly exhibit great dedication and belief in their mission vision.
Loreto Cabañes, MB editor-in-chief (left), with Mabel Niala of GCash, Lapu Lapu Mayor Junard Chan and Councilor Annabeth Cuizon. The City Government of Lapu Lapu is the GCash-Manila Bulletin UPLIFT Awardee for e-Commerce.
SMIC (or the SM Group) is our Big Business awardee, and Sports went to gymnast Carlos Yulo, and Entertainment honored Dolly de Leon. For Public Service, it’s the TUPAD Program of the Department of Labor and Employment. And if you pushed me against the wall, I’d characterize these winners as the big stories, the ones that would not raise any eyebrows, are instantly recognizable and familiar.
But what I found touching, and choked me up a bit, was that the six other awardees are what we have to consider “small stories;” and via their acceptance speeches, we were witness to how they were all clearly moved by the Manila Bulletin having singled them out, and honoring them with this UPLIFT Award.
Our MSME’s awardee is Zennor Hydroponics Farm from Zambales, for e-Commerce, the City Government of Lapu Lapu and their digitization initiatives, for Agriculture we awarded Jocelyn Mamar of TESDA-certified John and Marga Nursery Farm, and Ilonggo chef Tibong Jardeleza Jr. took home the Arts, Culture and Education prize for championing Western Visayan cuisine.
Quirino State University garnered our Science and Technology award for their Clonal Propagation Protocols for Native Forest and Fruit-Bearing Trees of Quirino and nearby provinces. And for Healthcare, awardee Michael Deakin, who heads Lifeline 16-911 Medical Inc., a world-class ambulance service servicing Metro Manila and nearby localities, gave a humorous speech that touched on how it was so wonderful to be cited for a business, that against all logic, is one no customer ever wants to use, and wishes they could avoid like the plague.
MICHAEL DEAKIN, representing 16-911 Lifeline, The Medical City-Manila Bulletin UPLIFT Awardee for Heathcare.
Interviewed by TV news crews before the awards night started, I was asked what I hoped would be the major takeaway for the people attending, and subsequently, reading about this event. Now that we’re in the midst of a post-pandemic world, I was happy to say that it’s no longer just about finding stories that carry hope, but it’s just as important to recognize the small stories that do count.
The majority of our awardees are far from being household names. If I mention them “sans” context, they’d elicit vacant stares and a puzzled shrug of the shoulders. But several of them have been toiling, and being of service for decades, without asking for more than the satisfaction of knowing they’ve helped people. What I’m proud to say the UPLIFT selection process achieved is giving some of these individuals and companies a stint under the spotlight they so richly deserve. If other media platforms would take notice of them, and create their own stories, we’d have more than fulfilled our UPLIFT mission.