Today, the Ateneo de Manila University confers its traditional university awards to five outstanding individuals (one of them represents an organization). Fr. Mark Lesage CICM, Alfonso Bolipata, Synergeia Foundation (under the leadership of Milwida Guevarra), Brother Carlito Gaspar CSsR, and Patricia B. Licuanan PhD will be honored for their accomplishments, More than that, Ateneo de Manila is recognizing the outcome of their work. What is common among all these awardees is that their work has made our country better; Fr. Mark, Coke, Nene and her colleagues, Karl, and Tati, are builders and healers of the nation.
Fr. Mark Lesage CICM is the Bukas Palad Award, a recognition given to religious men and women. He has dedicated three decades of his life working in and transforming St. Joseph’s Parish in Las Piñas City into a participatory church. Under his guidance, this parish is an exemplar of what a Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) could be. It is well-known and visited by pastoral ministers from all over the world as an example to be emulated. Now assigned to develop the Bukal ng Tipan Pastoral Center in 2001, Fr. Mark remains committed to training pastoral workers and supporting BECs in parishes all over the country. This award is timely as 2017 has been proclaimed as the Year of the Parish as Communion of Communities.
Alfonso C. Bolipata is the Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi awardee, conferred on artists that have made a difference and contributed significantly to the development of Philippines culture. A world-famous violinist, Coke was trained at the Juilliard School. He was at the beginning of an international career when he decided to come back to the Philippines to teach violin to the children of Zambales’ farmers, fisherfolk, overseas workers and other low-income families. Through 25 years and with the help of other artist family members, this year’s Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi awardee developed Casa San Miguel, a music and arts school which boasts of an auditorium, artists’ residences, a gallery, and a museum of local history and culture. The university has also taken note that many of Casa’s scholars are now mentors themselves, teaching underprivileged children in San Miguel, Zambales and Tondo, Manila.
While I do not know Fr. Lesage and Coke Bolipata personally, that is not the case with the three other awardees.
Nene Guevarra has been a colleague for many years, from the 1990s when both of us served under President Fidel V. Ramos as undersecretaries to the present as co-faculty members of the Ateneo School of Government. I am also aware of the work of Synergeia Foundation under the leadership of Nene which is being conferred the Ozanam Award. Synergeia engages local governments, the Department of Education, socio-civic groups, schools, teachers, parents, and students in its mission to to improve basic education in the country. Passionately and patiently guided by Dr. Milwida M. Guevara since its establishment in 2002, founded from a learning circle for Ford Foundation grantees doing work on education reform, Synergeia’s programs are now in 250 municipalities and benefiting nearly 1.5 million schoolchildren. The Ozanam Award is appropriate for Nene, a devout Catholic whose educational mission is motivated by a faith that calls all of us to service.
I have also known Karl Gaspar for many years. His writings have had a big influence on me. More than that, the testimony of his life has inspired me to also be a better Christian (even if I continue to struggle). Karl is being conferred the Parangal Lingkod Sambayanan for his service to the nation and especially to the Lumad, the indigenous peoples of Mindanao. A Redemptorist missionary, theologian and anthropologist, Karl is a champion of the indigenous peoples’ cultural and resource rights, and promotes a deeper understanding of their culture among the non-lumad population through teaching, and his academic and popular writing. Karl is also a staunch advocate of peace and engaged in extensive peace-building efforts through inter-faith dialogues and ecumenical involvements in Mindanao.
Finally, Dr. Tati Licuanan will be conferred today with the Government Service Award. I have known Tati the longest, since the 1970s when I was a student in the Ateneo de Manila where he was already a star professor. Later, when I joined the philosophy faculty of the university, Tati had already become one of its top administrators. While acknowledging all her academic and professional accomplishments, the Government Service award is being conferred on Dr. Licuanan specifically for her visionary and excellent leadership of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) where she has served as chair for seven years. This recognition is for steering the Commission on Higher Education to implement significant reforms in higher education and through the difficult transition in basic education that affected the curriculum as well as the faculty and personnel of tertiary institutions, for her tenacity and dedication to her duties despite challenging transition issues, and for a leadership in education marked by uprightness, integrity, practical wisdom, and a high level of competence.
Working for a vibrant church of the people, performing and teaching music, accompanying the Lumad in their struggle, upgrading basic education, and transforming higher education: all these build and heal the nation.
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