Proud to be Pinoy in 2009! (Part 2)

This is actually the eleventh in my list (see my previous posting with the same title), and first for this posting.  We have Antonio Oposa, Jr.   A lawyer by profession and an environmental activist by heart, he’s one of the 2009 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees.  A landmark case popularized the Oposa Doctrine, which argues that the interests of future generations could be protected in court.  He is passionate to show that the law may actually protect and nurture the environment for today and tomorrow’s generations.

I also have in my list Editha Burgos, the mother of disappeared Philippine activist, Jonas Burgos.  She’s currently the chairperson of Families of Desaparecidos for Justice.  As she faces government officials and speaks in different for a, Mrs. Burgos embodies not only her love for Jonas but also a very deep concern for the essentials of human rights.  She personifies the battle against impunity in the Philippines. 

Then, we have Joy Rojas, who’s the first South East Asian to run over 3,000 miles across America.  She began in the Eagle Rock Plaza in Los Angeles, California on May 10 and arrived in New York on November 23 for what was intended to be charity run to raise money to fight tuberculosis and heart disease.  She showed determination and commitment, and made endless prayers to complete her trans-USA run.

Fourth in this list – and fourteenth over-all – is Rhap Salazar, the 12-year old singing sensation from Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro.  He guested in the Ellen DeGeneres show on November 17, after he was chanced upon by Ellen on YouTube (remember Charice Pempengco).  He was given a rousing ovation by the audience in the show for his emotional live performance.

We also have Bryan Villa, 18, a Filipino student in the United States who won in the technology category of the Council for Exceptional Children’s “Yes I can! Awards.”   Despite his being wheelchair-bound because of muscular dystrophy, he was not stopped from excelling and winning the award.

We also have Aris Pangilinan, the first Filipino teacher to receive the Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award.  Pangilinan, a math teacher at HD Woodson SHS, described the award as an educator internship opportunity.

Seventh in this list is the Filipino-American celebrity Master Chef Evenlyn Bunoan.  She undeniably elevated Filipino food from the traditional realm of the Filipino kitchen to the corridors of power in the Washington DC, particularly when Fil-Am Chef Cristeta Comerford was assigned as White House Chef by Bush, Jr. and Obama.  Evelyn — restauranteur/proprieto, cooking show host, and food columnist – among others — was nominated as one of the Filipino Women’s Network (FWN) 100 Most Influential Filipino Women in the US. 

Eighth is the Filipino cue artists Efren Reyes and Django Bustamante, who were the World Cup of Pool 2009 Champions.  They won over Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany in score 11-9.

The ninth is the Philippine Madrigal Singers, who were selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as Artist for Peace.  The Filipino singers’ effort to promote dialogue and understanding among peoples in Southeast Asia and to extend UNESCO’s message of peace and tolerance made them won the recognition.  But, even before this recognition, the Madrigal singers were already making Filipinos proud in bringing home a lot of awards as they competed in different countries.

Finally, we cannot forget the real local heroes of the Tropical Storm, Ondoy.  They were first to help – not the police, local government officials or the army.  They were the ordinary people you saw on ordinary days doing ordinary things for living.  They directed traffic to unclog junctions, allowed emergency U-turns, passed on reports from further down the road, pointed the way to the nearest gas station, pushed stalled cars to dry ground, brought food and water t the windows of trapped cars, towed children and old people with inflated truck tires, or small raft of big mineral water bottles across the flooded areas.