Students List 10 Outstanding Public Servants
November 26, 2002; Manila Bulletin
Sen. Aquilino Pimentel and National Labor Relations Commission Chairman Roy V. Señeres led 11 public officials who have been chosen as the
Philippines
' "Outstanding Public Servants" for the year 2002 by the National Student Consensus (
NSC
), an inter-school student organization.
NSC
President Hermie S. Aban said yesterday that the 11 officials were chosen by the organization's board of directors following a seven-month screening and consultation with the
NSC
's membership nationwide.
Pimentel was chosen by the students for his "unblemished and principled record as a politician, freedom fighter during the Marcos dictatorship, as a constitutionalist, relentless foe of graft and corruption, and consistent independent stance as a member of the Senate."
Señeres was cited for his "significant contribution to the overseas deployment of Filipino workers, thus helping boost the
Philippines
financial resources through foreign exchange remittances, as former ambassador to the
Middle East
, and for bringing about unprecedented harmonious labor-management relations and industrial peace in the country as NLRC commissioner."
Other student choices as outstanding public officials were Supreme Court Justices Leonardo Quisumbing and Romeo Callejo and Court of Appeals Justice Salvador Valdez Jr. for helping strengthening the rule of law and the justice system; Clark Development Corp. President Dr. Emmanuel Y. Angeles and Philippine Economic Zone Administrator Lilia b. Angeles, for effectively promoting economic growth and development; Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Lauro Baja Jr., for outstanding service in the field of foreign affairs; Assistant Solicitors General Carlos N. Ortega and Aurora P. Cortes in government legal affairs; and Public Works special projects director Philip F. Menez in infrastructures.
The nominations were made during a series of value-formation seminars conducted during a seven-month period by the Foundation for the Formation of Future Filipino Leaders chaired by retired Gen. Salvador Mison, president of Basic Holdings, Inc.
The honorees were chosen from a field of 318 nominees who were nominated by
NSC
members composed of student leaders from the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila, Far Eastern University, University of the East, San Beda College, De la Salle University and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP).
The 318 nominees were further trimmed down to 75 with the assistance of the UP Collegian Alumni Editors Foundation and the League of Political Science Professors, said Aban. The final choices were made by the
NSC
board of directors composed of a retired Supreme Court justice, a former senator, a university president, a TV commentator, a publisher, a former world president of an international club, a member of the UP Collegian alumni editors foundation, a Catholic bishop, two presidents of university student councils.
Their names will not be disclosed for at least two years, said Aban, because the selection is a continuing program.
Biographical sketches of the honorees will be distributed to elementary and high school students throughout the country for use as "role models." Criteria for selection were integrity, work habits, quality of service, quality of work, diligence, effectiveness and the public respect accorded the nominees nationwide, Aban declared.
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