INDIVIDUALS and organizations that provided inspiration and encouragement through their deeds during this time of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic were the recipients of the Ginebra Ako Awards in its third year.

This year, given the situation with the pandemic, Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. decided to salute those who moved to unite the country amid the difficult prevailing conditions under the theme “Pagkakaisa sa Gitna ng Pandemya.”

Established in 2018, the Ginebra Ako awards have been spotlighting real-life heroes who chose to make a difference in other people’s lives in their own capacities. This year’s awarding ceremony was held virtually on Dec. 18 and streamed via the Ginebra San Miguel Facebook page.

“This year, despite the pandemic, we still saw it fit to push through with the Ginebra Ako Awards … The end objective is to honor and shine light on our COVID-19 heroes. This year we garnered the most nominees, which is a testament to the number of people who put in the effort to help during this time of the pandemic. Hopefully the awardees will continue to be inspired in pushing their causes and be an inspiration to others,” said Emmanuel B. Macalalag, Ginebra San Miguel general manager during the ceremony.

Honored with the Pilipino Ako Award was Martin Xavier Peñaflor, CEO and chief architect of market research mobile application Tangere.

The 35-year-old was able to mobilize his app to accurately and quickly understand the situation on the ground and to figure out how to get help to those who were affected not only by the coronavirus pandemic but also of natural calamities like the Taal Volcano eruption in January and Typhoons Rolly and Ulysses in October and November.

The Pilipino Ako award is given to individuals or organizations that emphasize the value of unity in advancing their causes.

Other finalists for the award were Sr. Corrie Evidente, administrator of Hospicio de San Jose (first runner-up), and Ma. Cristina C. Evangelista, founder and project head of Rapid Deployment Hospitals (second runner-up).

The Matapang Ako Award, meanwhile, went to Minnie Pascual Klepacz, a nurse based in the United Kingdom and one of the proponents of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network and the Filipino Nurses Association United Kingdom (FNA-UK).

Ms. Klepacz, 40, through FNA-UK, was able to address the concerns of Filipino nurses and provided support to them even outside of work, including cooking meals for colleagues who were recovering after being in intensive care due to COVID-19. She also organized virtual community events to offer comfort and reassurance to Filipino nurses.

The Matapang Ako award is given to persons or groups who went beyond their call of duty in uniting their fellowmen for a common purpose.

Zion Enrico Roque Licup, co-founder of iUplift Philippines (first runner-up) and Coleen Danielle Natividad, founder of Food For Frontliners PH (second runner-up) were the other finalists for the award.

For the Lalaban Ako Award, it went to the Emergency Quarantine Facility (EQF) project led by Dr. Glenn Angeles and Architect William Ti.

The EQF project provided hospitals with more space to safely and effectively treat COVID-19 patients, as well as give them space for health care workers to rest and recuperate, or even isolate if they have been infected.

To help them in their cause, Messrs. Angeles and Ti sought the help of their other friends and colleagues, namely, Engr. Dan Quiaoit, Prim Paypon, Maj. Carmelo Jaluague and Lt. Col. Banjo Badayos to form the core team of EQF.

The Lalaban Ako award is given to persons or institutions that used their talent and exemplified excellence in their craft to help those in need.

The other finalists for the award were Anthony James Bautista, Ph.D of LISA Logistic Indoor Service Assistant Robot (first runner-up) and Dr. Francis Aldrin Uy of USHER Technologies (second runner-up).

Awardees for each category each received P100,000, a certificate, and a trophy, while the runners-up per category received P25,000 and a certificate. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

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