BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon
NPT nominations for Centennial awards

BAGUIO CITY – Nominations for “Builders of Baguio Awards” have been extended until 5 p.m. May 31. Dr. Reynaldo Bautista Sr., chairman of the awards committee of the Baguio Centennial Commission, said there is a need to extend the deadline to gather more nominees and allow wider selection.

Nominees need not only be the rich and famous. “The nominee may just be an ordinary person, but if the nominee has made a lasting contribution to the development of Baguio into what it is today, then he or she can be nominated,” Baguio Centennial Commission for Historical Research Edilberto Tenefrancia said.

Nito Meneses of the publications department of the commission said the awards seek to honor individuals, families and institutions which played a part in the building of Baguio from a simple Rancheria when the Americans discovered it in the late 1800s to the sprawling metropolis it is today. Ideally, the Baguio Centennial Commission wants to recognize 100 individuals, 100 families and 100 institutions.

As of May 14, there were 65 nominees in the three categories. “You may not be part of the history books, but you did something to show you cared for Baguio,” Bautista said. “Who knows, with this search we might even help re-write the history of Baguio,” Tenefrancia added.

The awards are not limited to Baguio residents. Awards also include those from neighboring BLIST (La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan and Tuba) towns. Before there was Baguio, there was La Trinidad and Baguio territory was taken from the area of these surrounding Benguet towns.

Without the contributions of individuals, families and institutions from these areas, Baguio would not have been, Bautista said. After the final selection, the Centennial Commission is planning to publish a coffee table book which would document the stories of the 300 builders as well as a “Wall of Remembrance,” which will be erected in the Centennial Park.
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Hereunder is the first part of Northern Philippines Times nominations for the centennial awards. These are the persons, institutions or families the NPT considers who have done their part in making Baguio a better place to live in.

But we are requesting centennial staff to please get more details and resume of these persons, families and institutions. If we have missed out on the others, (after all nobody’s perfect) please feel free to contact us so we could include these in our nominations.

For legal profession (particularly on human rights) are lawyers Pablito Sanidad, Noe Villanueva, Rene Cortez, brothers Rocky and Joe Molintas

For the media are the late father and son Sinai and Steve Hamada, Oseo Hamada and Bernie Okubo families, still incumbent Baguio Midland Courier editor-in-chief Cecile Afable, the late Peppot Ilagan, Bagnos Cudiamat, George Jularbal, Willy Cacdac, Juan Tenorio, Buddy Cenzon, Oswald Alvaro, Joe Florendo and Sid Chammag. Include Ramon Dacawi, now the information officer of city hall who had been at the forefront of the Busol eco-walk project and fund-raising activities for indigent patients.

For sports are Dr. Charles Cheng for boxing and who also made breakthrough studies and research on bad effects of pesticides on the vegetable industry, Tony Candelaria of 50s Diner for Chinese martial arts and Edgar Kapawen of the Japan Karate Association who have also produced world-class athletes in this field who competed and won in international events.

Antonio A, Del Monte is also cited for sports development in the fields of basketball, bowling, long jump and track and field. Del Monte held the longest running basketball clinic and tournaments in the city until now which also produced athletes who later joined national professional basketball associations.

Del Monte was also athletic coach of World Games for Special Children at New Heaven, Connecticut, US and had also raised funds for a mammogram machine worth millions of pesos which is now being used at the Benguet General Hospital for cancer patients.

For education are the Bautistas of the University of Baguio, Salvosas of University of the Cordilleras (formerly Baguio Colleges Foundation), Fernandezes of the Baguio Central University, the administrators and founders of the Saint Louis University and the Weygans of Baguio School of Business and Technology.

For the arts are Ben Cabrera, Kidlat Tahimik and his sons, the late Santiago Bose among others. More nominations to come from this paper but we suggest to the centennial commission to extend its May 31 deadline of submission of nominees to allow others to be nominated.

Nomination forms are available at the Baguio Centennial Office at the Convention Center, the City Mayor’s Office, Rosebowl Restaurant and Luisa’s Café.