Xavier School honors 2015 exemplary alumni
Xavier School will confer the 2015 Xavier- Kuangchi Award for Exemplary Alumni on Dr. Michael Tan (Class of 1969) and Dr. Robert Louie So (Class of 1993) on July 24. Both graduates are being recognized for their significant contributions in the public sector: Tan in education and So in public health.
Michael Tan joined the faculty of UP-Diliman in 1984 and served as chair of the anthropology department from 2001 to 2010. He became dean of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy in 2010 and was appointed chancellor in 2014.
His academic research has focused on medical anthropology, traditional medicine, public health, and gender equality. His scholarly work has provided a strong foundation for his social development advocacies and in the formulation of public policy. He has held appointments with the Department of Health’s National Drug Committee and the National AIDS Council, and with various international medical organizations including the World Health Organization and UNICEF. He has received numerous honors including the Rizal Outstanding Chinese Filipinos Award for Literature and Journalism ( 2005), the Takashi Fuji Award from the International Federation of Social Science Organizations (1997), and the UP Centennial Professor Award (2009). He was elected member of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in 2012.
Dr. Robert So graduated from the UP College of Medicine but gave up a promising career as a heart surgeon and shifted to government service, joining the Department of Health in 2003. In 2005, he became head of the National Drug Policy Program and conceptualized and enforced the guidelines (IRR) for the Cheaper Medicines Act, price regulation for essential prescription medicine, and the wholesale procurement system and generics- only prescription for government hospitals. He is credited for designing and implementing the Botikang Barangay program, with over 16,000 outlets that serve 40,000 local communities nationwide. He is presently Vice President and Chief Executive for Audit at PhilHealth, where he has been spearheading reforms such as the development of new benefits, the curtailment of fraudulent claims, the policy to help the poor without insurance coverage, and the strengthening of governance and internal controls. He topped the Career Executive Service Board Exam in 2010 and was honored with the Young Physician Leaders Programme Award in 2014.The Xavier-Kuangchi Award honors Xavier alumni who have made the most of their talents and, through service and leadership, have had a positive impact in their communities and society in general.
The annual tribute, first given in 2007, is named after the school’s patron, St. Francis Xavier, and Paul Hsu Kuangchi, a highly respected court official of the Ming Dynasty, whose support of the Church was invaluable to the Jesuit’s mission in China.