Young and brilliant entrepreneurs were celebrated and honored at the Ramon V. del Rosario Siklab Awards, a joint initiative organized by PHINMA and the De La Salle University (DLSU) RVR School of Business. The awarding ceremony was held on August 20 at The Fifth at Rockwell Events Hall in Makati City.
The honorees of this year’s RVR Siklab Awards came from diverse fields. The list includes Ariestelo A. Asilo, the co-founder and CEO of Varacco Inc., a coffee company that helps local farmers use technology to boost output amid problems posed by climate change and outdated farming technologies.
“We only grow as well as the soil that we’re in, and the work that we’ve been doing focuses on restoring the planet and making the soil better so the plants and trees can grow. We, at Varacco, want to create necessary changes so we can live in harmony,” Asilo said during the awarding ceremony.
Second in the prestigious list is Victor Mari C. Baguilat, Jr., who founded Kandama to empower indigenous Ifugao women weavers by connecting their traditional hand-loomed fabrics to the global market. Kandama has been featured in fashion events in New York, Paris, Melbourne, and Hong Kong. It provides sustainable livelihood while preserving the precious weaving tradition of these communities.
Other honorees include Masungi Georeserve co-founder Ann Adeline Dumaliang, Make A Difference (MAD) Travel co-founder Rafael Dionisio, and Avin Ong, the CEO of Fredley Group of Companies, the company behind brands like Macao Imperial Tea and Nabe.
This year, businessman and philanthropist Ambassador Howard Dee also received the Nation Building Award for his dedication to social development and peace.
From playing a key role in the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and brokering the 2001 Tripoli Agreement to co-founding ASA Philippines and Assisi Development Foundation, Mr. Dee’s work testifies to his lifelong commitment to eradicating poverty and pursuing peace and social justice. A true example of taking patriotic duty to heart, he impacts countless lives here and around the world to this day.
The RVR Siklab Awards aims to recognize young entrepreneurs between the ages of 25 to 40 who embody the ideals of its namesake and have proven to be exceptional leaders in their fields through sustainable enterprises that empower and uplift the lives of others.
While the RVR Nation Building Award recognizes men and women who have demonstrated outstanding traits such as entrepreneurial spirit, national or global impact, corporate citizenship and social responsibility. The recognition also marks sixty years of driving positive change within communities by JCI Manila, whose founding president was none other than the “Father of Philippine Modern Industry” himself: Ramon. del Rosario, Sr.
