BAGUIO day is never complete without lauding outstanding citizens and for this year, five men and women were chosen as the city’s best.
The selection team of the Society of Outstanding Citizens of Baguio (Socob) have chosen the select group from entries which underwent a rigorous process of validation.
The outstanding will be honored in the weekend celebration of the city with Mayor Mauricio Domogan conferring the awards.
This year, five individuals will be honored for community service, two for education, and one each for culture and arts, business, and professional distinction.
Leading the cast of awardees is Teresita Marcelo for culture and arts. Through socio-civic groups, she shares time and resources, reaching out to others in countless medical missions, school feeding, diabetes awareness and sight saving programs; the giving of wheelchair to the needy, and donations to dialysis patients and typhoon victims.
Marcelo also acted as a foster parent to Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadets, sharing her home with them. As an environmentalist, she leads in tree planting activities in our watersheds.
Another awardee is Rosalind Rusgal Camat for education. She is a caregiver for her husband, a teacher for thousands of students, she makes good in church activities, and an active participant in youth empowerment, environmental and tourism programs.
Included in this year’s honor roll is Esther Kiw-is Litilit, a teacher-leader which gives her best, and in partnership with teachers, parents and the community accomplishes much with the students’ academic and extracurricular performance. Her energetic efforts hit excellent marks with Brigada Eskwela awards in the national level, eco-friendly, Best Implementing and Performing school in Baguio and finalist in the region and a school being accredited in the second level.
Another honoree is Generosa Boado Carbonell for community service. As a dedicated and well-trained nurse, here and abroad, Carbonell always shares her learning from technical know-how, assessment of managerial functions of nurse administrators, and values-oriented program for government employees.
Also included in the 10 outstanding citizen is Jane Cosalan for community Service. She gives quality time, talent and skills and material blessings for individuals: young pupils and students, priests and future priests; a retirement home for nuns; and church for the community, and halfway home for abused children.
Another awardee in the field of community service is Jose Bugayong, Jr. A retired college of medicine professor and long-time hospital consultant in surgery, Dr. Bugayong shares his medical knowledge to those who have less in life; through being a volunteer doctor in the local government initiated Pasadang Pambarangay.
Making it to the list is another awardee for community service, Guillermo Battad Cortes. A college undergraduate, Cortes has excellent record with all his employers. He is known to be a courteous and courageous security guard, and has commendations as to his integrity and work ethics, and beyond-the-call-of-duty responsibilities. He returns items left by customers, has retrieved a cash-laden bag to the owner, and assists clients to the fullest of his capability.
Jose Ong Tajan also made it to this year’s outstanding citizen for community service. He now spends his time on philanthropic endeavors: gift-giving, medical missions, and provision of scholarships to poor but deserving students, aside from running his businesses. He promotes excellent Chinese Filipino ties by being emissaries during visits and established the Baguio City-Hangzhou City, friendship garden at the Botanical Park.
For business, Rolando Veneracion Villanueva never regretted his decision to come home as he worked hard, and his business ventures grew. He then started giving back to his community through training students to do better; treating his employees as partners in the business and sharing his learning through speaking engagements.
Last but not the least is Bonifacio Ilao dela Peña for professional distinction. Trained here and abroad in highly technical engineering education, de la Peña shared what he knew through being a professor in the academe.
Dela Pena’s trainings are fully utilized as these include; earth-retaining structure, earthquake damaged structures; disaster prevention and mitigation, globally competitive engineering education, roads and bridge construction, soil stability, housing and landslide assessment, and technological education, among others.