FOUR OF THEM come from government, two from the academe, one each from the religious, health, and beauty sectors, and one from the realm of heroes. Seven are male while three are female. Of the seven male awardees, at least three are openly gay. The oldest is 75, the youngest 21. Nine are living and one we hope to keep alive in our collective Ilocano memory.
Different backgrounds, different advocacies, but all exemplifying the great Ilocano spirit. Here are The Ilocos Times Outstanding Ilocanos for 2020, receiving well-deserved recognition as we enter the second decade of the 21st century.
Through the years, she has been repeatedly recognized as Most Outstanding Provincial Treasurer of Region I, a meritorious award presented by the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) of the Department of Finance for her “remarkable performance in the treasury service and as forerunner in the revenue generation program of the Department.” It is thus no wonder that Ilocos Norte has been one of the country’s top ten provinces in terms of collection efficiency based on BLGF targets.
Because of her sterling leadership and professional qualities, she was elected as president of the Regional Association of Association of Treasurers and Assessors in Region I. In 2017, she served as Vice President of the Philippine Association of Local Treasurers and Assessors (PHALTRA), and is currently on its Board of Directors.
But her biggest joy in her work, Mrs. Calajate shares, is not in the awards she has received nor in the positions she has held, but in the impactful contribution of his office in realizing Ilocos Norte’s development goals. As taxes and collections fuel government programs and projects, efficient collection coupled with proper handling of funds are vital in the attainment of the local government agenda. Ilocos Norte has consistently been listed as one of the Philippines’ “least poor provinces”, ranking high in the human development index.
Mrs. Calajate’s wisdom, work ethic, and integrity has won for her the trust and respect of the governors she has served as provincial treasurer for the past 22 years. In his message for Mrs. Calajate’s 60th birthday, Former Senator and Ilocos Norte Governor made this very generous remark:
“Manang Josie, ang aming Gabriela, I want to greet you a happy, happy birthday. Mabuti na lang noong naging governor ako, nandyan ka at marami akong natutunan sa’yo, ganun din si Gob Imee, at ngayon si Gob Matt. Alagaan mo ang batang ‘yan, he is a good guy. You will be able to do many good things for the province together. Nagpapasalamat ako for all your help in all the time of all the Marcoses diyan sa probinsiya. Ikaw ang aming inaasahan lagi. You have never failed us.”
Outside work, Mrs. Calajate is devout in her two apostolates: as lay leader in the church, particularly at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Shrine of La Virgen Milagrosa de Badoc, where heads the Parish Finance Council; and as doting grandmother Jorgeane Verena.
A RESEARCHER, teacher, and scholar with over 30 years of diversified experience here and abroad, Dr. Shirley Agrupis is a rockstar in the country's research circles.
Before joining MMSU in 2000, she was Science Research Specialist at the National Tobacco Administration (1985-1999) where she pioneered alternative uses of tobacco as particleboard, pulp, and paper materials.
At MMSU, she rose through the ranks to become full Professor in 2012. As director for external affairs and partnership, MMSU became a destination of choice for international scholars and scientists. In 2017, she was elected as 7th MMSU president, the first alumna of the university to hold the post.
Dr. Agrupis, who obtained her PhD in a Japan University and conducted postgraduate research fellowships in the United States, envisions the MMSU to become a premier Philippine university when it turns 50 in 2028. She crafted her 7-POINT development agenda dubbed ACHIEVE : Academic excellence; Creative, relevant and innovative research programs; High impact and transformative extension and outreach programs; Improved revenue generation and resource management; Expanded external linkages and partnerships; Vibrant and encouraging, culturally-focused university campus; and Effective and efficient management.
With her phenomenal rise, she has always the heart and eyes to look back where she came from—a poor, farming community in Aparri, Cagayan. Her successful work in bioethanol research and developmentis aimed at improving the lives of the small-scale nipa farmers through their integration in the mainstream bioethanol industry.
Her work on bioethanol production led to the establishment of the National Bioenergy Research and Innovation Center based at MMSU. The Center coordinates bioenergy research conducted by universities and agencies around the country.
Dr. Agrupis served as President of the Fulbright –Philippine Agriculture Alumni Association. It is during her Presidency where the Farmers’ Technology Forum was instituted in different places in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Here, the technology need of the community are addressed.
The multitude of awards she has harvested includes the William D. Dar Research Leadership Award given last year by the Philippine Association of Research Managers, Inc.
A lawyer-career executive service official with more than 35 years of service in government, three decades of which were in the legislature, she rose from the ranks of the Congressional Staff and the Secretariat, serving, among others, as Chief-of-Staff of the Minority Leader (8th Congress), the Majority Leader (10th to the 11th Congresses), and as Director IV of the Committee on Rules (12th and 13th).
In raising the standard of legislative support services in the House, this Laoagueña introduced reforms and innovations that were clearly directed towards the core reason for government’s existence – serving the public interest. She consistently worked based on the principle that the House of Representatives is the House of the People and as such, legislative support services that the House Secretariat delivers should always be measured in terms of their value to the Filipino people.
As the reforms and innovations she introduced necessarily required changes that in turn required the officials and staff in the House Secretariat to move out of their comfort zones, she was not always “popular” but no one can argue against the fact that her initiatives were really what is best for the House of Representatives as the House of the Filipino people.
In the years that she served as Secretary General, she was consistently against the “status quo” as she believes that continuous improvement of public services should be the norm. She consistently challenged the officials and staff of the House Secretariat to do better than their last period’s performance.
Hers is the kind of management approach that we need in the Philippine bureaucracy. Our government can only be a genuine government of, for and by the people if public managers are able to define operations of their respective agencies in the context of the value of the same to serving the public interest and are able to create operating systems that are meant to continuously improve the kinds and quality of services delivered to the public.
Perhaps, the most significant of her achievements is her modeling of the passion for and commitment to serving the public interest that every public manager should possess. The absence of such passion and commitment causes the unresponsiveness of the government and thus, the continuous erosion of the people’s trust in it.
In 2016, she launched her book “Accountability in Congress” in an an event hosted by the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UPCIDS) and the UP Law Center. Atty. Yap is a lecturer at the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance where she obtained her doctorate degree. Atty. Yap’s book, a pioneering work, introduces a framework for accountability in the legislative branch of government. It also presents a Legislative Performance Report Card for legislative output.
(Parts of this article were lifted from the column of Dr. Ramon Ricardo A. Roque published in Tempo)
With Masters and PhD in Philosophy from UCL (Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium),
he became the first non-Jesuit dean of the School of Arts and Sciences of the Ateneo de Manila University in 1988. He was President of: Philosophy Circle of the Philippines (PCP); Philosophical Association of the Philippines (PAP); Asian Association of Catholic Philosophers (AACP); and COMIUCAP (Conférence Mondiale des Institutions Universitaires Catholiques de Philosophie/World Congress of Institutions of Philosophy in Catholic Universities).
Because of his brilliance and contributions in philosophy, he received various awards and distinctions. He was named Knightin the Order of the Academic Palms, France, in1989. He was appointed Officer, Order of Arts and Letters, France, in 2008. He was also proclaimed Commander in the Order of Leopold II, Belgium, in 2012.
THE PHILIPPINES is a low HIV-prevalence country; but it now has the fastest growing number of Human Immunodeficiency Virus cases in the world. This fact was not lost on Jurgen Rushell G. Rapacon, a registered nurse and a Dept. of Health-certified counselor. To combat this, Mr. Rapacon has personally made HIV awareness his crusade.
He delivers talks on the issue; gives out free condoms; and holds free HIV-testing. He has also integrated this advocacy in his day-job—by becoming chief HIV change agent at a Laoag hospital where he currently works as chief nursing officer. On top of all this, he also became a change agent, a counsellor, a life coach, and a friend to those who faced HIV related stigma and discrimination.
But above all, Mr. Rapacon wants to raise the people’s awareness about HIV and for each and everyone of us to find ways to prevent further spread of the virus and help those who are infected and affected.
BRETTMAN ROCK Sacayanan Laforga is one of the planet’s biggest Internet stars. Rising to fame as a teenager, the vlogger is phenomenally famous for his beauty videos, but he is so much more than just a beauty influencer. The YouTube star is also beloved for his sassy personality, quirky sense of humor, and confident style. He's got tens of millions of followers across his social media accounts, with fourteen million fans on Instagram alone.
In 2017, Time Magazine listed him as one of the world’s 30 Most Influential Teens and in November last year, he was named as Beauty Influencer of the Year at the People’s Choice Awards in Los Angeles, California. The Hawaii-based vlogger bested other big names in the online beauty community such as Jeffree Star and Nikita Dragun. Brettman dedicated the prestigious accolade to his father who died a few days before the awards. He went home to Badoc town to pay his last respects to his dad.
The young Ilocano icon, who migrated to the US when he was five, will be starring in his own MTV reality TV show entitled No Filter, set for release early this year.
He obtained a Licentiate in History and Cultural Heritage of the Church at the Pontificia Universita Gregoriana in Rome where he is currently working on his Doctorate. He also has a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Universidad de Navarra. He is with the Faculty of the Immaculate Conception School of Theology in Vigan City.
NOW ON HIS second term, Batac Mayor Albert D. Chua is changing his city for the better. With his local government’s renewed thrusts on agriculture, education, employment, health care and senior citizens’ support, he has energized governance in this province’s other city.
As the city’s father, Mr. Chua also understands that today’s challenges also need today’s generation to help him in facing them. As such, he has infused new blood in the city government’s rank and file. He has beefed up barangay roads ("We must be forward looking, it should be at least five meters wide"). And has bolstered business confidence in the city. But the mayor’s most potent attribute is his ability to listen—to both his employees and constituents—and then to learn from them. It is rare when a chief executive knows that life—and governance—is a continuous learning process. It is rarer still when that same chief executive shows a healthy appetite to continue learning and keep on bettering himself so he could be of more service to his constituents. Under his leadership, the City of Batac obtained in 2018 the Seal of Good Local Governance, a recognition the other city failed to achieve.
Mayor Chua's "Pabilgen ni Bataqueño para iti Sapasap a Progreso" (Empower the Bataqueño for Inclusive Growth) is not an empty slogan but a promise unfolding, and, if he continues to perform well, maybe a legend carved in perpetuity in the hearts of his constituents
There is no greater sacrifice than risking your own life to save others. This is what Ricky Manglal-lan did on the fateful day of August 24, 2019 as severe tropical storm Ineng [international name Ballu] lashed Laoag City.
Seeing his fellow Brgy. Salet Bulangon residents in danger of being drowned in a creek, the 34-year old Mr. Manglal-lan went out of the safety of their home and dove in the tumultuous water. He did save his co-barangay residents in danger but he lost his life in the process.
A hero he was and his deed should inspire us always.
One of the youngest SP members in the province’s history, Mr. Lazo was a political novice prior to his candidacy last year. But he is fast proving that not only does he belong, but he has now become more of an asset of the provincial board.
As chairperson of the board’s committee on education, Mr. Lazo has both sponsored various scholarship programs for deserving Ilocos Norte students and tweaked current scholarship programs to keep them attuned to the present. On top of this, he has also joined discussions and interpellations of the collegial body in various issues that affect the province. And his youthful perspective has brought fresher insights to otherwise stale ideas.
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