STAR editor among outstanding Pangasinense
LINGAYEN – The editor-in-chief of
The Philippine STAR and nine other sons and daughters of the province were honored Friday night for their excellence in various fields in the 2015 ASNA awards during the 435th founding anniversary of Agew na Pangasinan (Pangasinan Day).
In his message, Gov. Amado Espino Jr. said that aside from Pangasinan’s rich and diverse natural resources, the province
is endowed with warm, hospitable and intelligent people whose capacity to excel, lead, govern, and seize opportunities for advancement is evident in its numerous sons and daughters who have gained national prominence.
“The name of the game is excellence,” Espino said, adding that the awardees’ outstanding achievements “should inspire all of us to strive for nothing less than the best in everything that we do.” The ASNA awardees are The
STAR’s Ana Marie Pamintuan ( journalism), Fr. Agerico Orbos (spiritual leadership), Rebecca Bustamante (entrepreneurship), Cecilia Daranciang (culture and arts), Perla Legaspi ( public administration), former environment secretary Victor Ramos ( environment), Emilio Estrella Sanglay Jr. (music), Vivencio Villaflor ( humanitarian and civic leadership) and former energy secretary Francisco Viray (corporate leadership).
Special recognition awardee was former Professional Regulation Commission chairman Hermogenes Pobre (public service), now president and vice chairman of the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp. Pobre, whose wife is from Lingayen, spent 26 years in the academe, serving the University of the Philippines, University of the East and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Pamintuan, whose paternal grandmother is from Mangatarem town, graduated with honors from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, obtaining a degree in journalism from the College of Mass Communications. The college conferred on her an award for excellence in journalism during UP’s centennial in 2008. She was also the Rotary Club of Manila’s Print Journalist of the Year in 2012. She rose through the ranks in The
STAR, where she started as a reporter when it began operations in 1986.
Orbos, from San Carlos City, was ordained priest on Oct. 25, 1980. He is now mission director of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) Mission Philippines. He takes care of the needs of Filipino SVD missionaries working overseas and spearheads the promotion of mission awareness.
Bustamante, a native of Dasol town, worked at an early age as a vendor, janitress in a bank, then domestic helper for a Singaporean family. She eventually put up a business with her husband and is now president of her own executive recruitment firm and president and co-founder of one of the largest business events companies in Southeast Asia.
Daranciang, a daughter of Mangatarem, is an educator and doctor in three fields of philosophy as well as a lecturer in big universities here and abroad. Now 85, she continues to write books focusing on Pangasinan’s history, culture and arts.
Legaspi, also from Mangatarem, has been the vice chancellor and director of the Local Government Center and director of Human Resources Development Office of UP Diliman. Her role in the research for the founding day of Pangasinan and her heading the team of researchers for the revised and annotated history of Pangasinan are significant to the province.
Ramos, from San Nicolas, has dedicated the best years of his life to public service as undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources under Corazon Aquino and secretary of Fidel Ramos during his presidency. The awardee stood his ground in turning down the proposed Bolinao cement plant which, although planned to be the largest cement factory in Southeast Asia, would have threatened the fragile ecosystem of Lingayen Gulf.
Sanglay, from Bautista town, is considered as the Father of NeoEthnic Music in the Philippines, according to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. His greatest contribution to the music industry is the introduction and popularization of neo-ethnic rock in the ’70s through his band Pen Pen. Most of his compositions revolve around environmental protection, nationalism, humanity, good governance and promotion of peace.
Villaflor, a medical doctor, together with his wife who is also a doctor, put up a 17-bed clinic which he later transformed into a 100-bed tertiary care hospital, now known as Dagupan Doctors Villafl or Memorial Hospital. It is considered to be the best provider of advanced medical care north of Manila. Villafl involvement in various fields of human activity has earned him numerous awards and recognitions including the “Most Outstanding Physician in Pangasinan” given by the Philippine Medical Association in 1979 and the “Dr. Jose Rizal” award in 2000.
Viray, from Lingayen, was president of the National Power Corp. and was appointed by Fidel Ramos to head the Department of Energy where he made significant reforms in the power sector. He is one of the founding members of the UP Palaris Confraternity, a brotherhood and sisterhood group of Pangasinan students studying in UP.
Judge Emma Bauzon, who chaired this year’s awards search committee, said ASNA was launched on April 5, 2010 as part of the highlights of the 430th foundation anniversary of Pangasinan and the provincial government’s first celebration of its founding date as a province.
“ASNA is an old form of the Pangasinan word asin (salt), which usually describes the good quality of a man’s character or his demeanor,” she said.
“Therefore, an ASNA awardee is the epitome of goodness and honor, a trailblazer, a shining example. His work is exceptional, that sets him apart and keeps him above the rest, making him truly worth his salt,” Bauzon said.
The first batch of ASNA awardees included Fidel Ramos and National Artist F. Sionil Jose.