Kudos to our very own Dr. Patrick Alcedo, Chairman of the Dance Department, York University, and multi-awarded film maker. Another feather in his already-crowded cap is in the offing. He just left for Manila for the awarding of the Pamana ng Pilipino Presidential Award, our good friend being one of the fifty-six (56) distinguished and outstanding overseas Filipinos and foreign-based organizations from 20 countries and territories who will be honored by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte with the 2021 Presidential Awards for Filipino individuals and Organizations Overseas (PAFIOO).
PAFIOO is a biennial search for overseas-based organizations or individuals who have dedicated their work in the service of Filipinos in the Philippines or abroad, selflessly supported relief, rehabilitation, and development programs in the home country, or excelled in their field of work or profession. The awardees were selected from a total of 117 nominations received since 2019. These nominations came from 31 countries and were endorsed by 39 Philippine Foreign Service Posts across Asia, North and South America, Europe and Australia.
The awardees were thoroughly screened through a 4-stage evaluation process, which is formidable indeed. You can check their website for more details on the screening and evaluation process. It includes an inter-agency Technical Committee composed of representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Health, Nation Commission for Culture and the Arts, De La Salle University, Center for Migrant Advocacy and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) as Chair.
You think that was enough. Nope. There were other screening stages which involved a multi-sectoral Executive Committee including GMA Network and then the shortlist was then submitted to the Office of the President for final evaluation and approval. The awarding ceremony was delayed due to the fluid situation during the pandemic.
I am impressed, Patrick, my friend.
There are 4 major categories for these awards, one of them being the Pamana ng Pilipino awards. The other 3 award categories are the Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino (LINKAPIL), Banaag and Kaanib ng Bayan
The term “Pamana” means legacy and heritage. It speaks of the honor that Filipinos bequeath to the homeland though their outstanding recognition, expertise, skills, and talents, among others.
This award is conferred on overseas Filipino individuals, who, in exemplifying the talent and industry of the Filipino, have brought the country honor and recognition through excellence and distinction in the pursuit of their work or profession.
Undoubtedly, Dr. Alcedo is more than qualified for the Pamana ng Pilipino Award.
Hindi pa tapos yan! After Manila, he flies off to the Sydney World Film Festival from 4 to 8 May 2022, where his documentary “They Call Me Dax” will be screened as an official selection on May 5. OMG, Patrick, you have done it again. Unstoppable!
By the way, I noticed a heartening statement on the website of the Sydney World Film Festival.
“The Sydney World Film Festival is a ‘Climate Neutral Film Event’, powered by Treeplan.org. By planting a total amount of 600 trees with Treeplan.org the festival is more than offsetting its carbon footprint.”
May pag-asa naman pala ang mundo!
Speaking of “pag-asa” or hope in English, I also felt relieved that my favorite classical music internet radio WQXR broadcasting from New York is not politicizing this Russia-Ukraine conflict (actually I believe it is more of a U.S.- Russia conflict, Ukraine just being a pawn), which, of course, is another story for another day, maybe.
A few weeks ago, I was utterly flabbergasted when some concert company in the U.K. cancelled their Tchaikovsky concerts. What the!!!???? And there was talk of banning the books of Dostoevsky, or something of the sort. And other nonsensical news of this nature.
I love the music of Rachmaninoff, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, and many other Russian composers, and I am not about to stop listening to them because of this geopolitical strife, tragic and horrifying as the effects may be. So far, WQXR a public radio station of excellently curated classical music in New York is still playing all the composers of the world, Russian or not. The Russian conductor Valery Gergiev is also one of my favorites. Let it just be known that I am for peace and not for war. But cancelling what is good about Russia is not what I think peace is about. I just pray that all these problems will be resolved in the near future.
On to a brighter and positive note! –
In the midst of the research I am doing in connection with a television special on Dr. Rizal I am working with on with the Knights of Rizal Central Canada, I have been discovering interesting things about our national hero, Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, or Dr. Jose Rizal as we all Filipinos know. I must admit that when I was studying in school, I really did not pay much attention to his story and the details of his life. All I knew was that he was our national hero and he wrote the novels “Noli Me Tangere” and the “El Filibusterismo” which somehow gave birth to the Philippine nationalist movement.
I am still learning as I go, but I am realizing that what he was working for, or the ideas he had in mind, are still just as relevant as it was in the 19th century. Learning about him and his life is validating the belief or the principle that we all have a shared humanity. Yes, a lot of things have changed but there are still vestiges of the basic things that underlie our common thread of humanity. No wonder Dr. Ambeth Ocampo, eminent historian and a Rizal expert, chose or was magnetized to study and research Dr. Rizal, his writings, his life and all things about Rizal, which, I understand, up to this day, Dr. Ambeth is still discovering new things about Dr. Rizal.
A call to young (13 to 25 years) music lovers or budding song writers out there! —
You or someone you know may want to join the Likhang Awit Kay Rizal, a song writing contest put up by the Knights of Rizal to engage the young to find out more about Dr. Rizal and his ideals. The song writing contest has cash prizes for the 3 selected winners and last day of submission of the song video entries is May 22, 2022. The video entries will be aired within the TV Special DR. RIZAL, THEN & NOW, to be broadcast on OMNI TV nationwide from coast to coast in Canada on June 19 and 26, 2022.
For inquiries, please email – likhangawit2022@gmail.com
Till the next issue, “Mabuhay tayong lahat”!