Filipina, four others honored at Ramon Magsaysay Awards

(Updated 4:45 p.m.) A Filipina cultural researcher was among five Asian luminaries recognized on Monday, August 31, at the awarding ceremony for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Awards.

Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa was joined by Kommaly Chanthavong of Laos, Kyaw Thu of Myanmar and Indian duo Anshu Gupta and Sanjiv Chaturvedi at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, where they were bestowed the honor by President Benigno Aquino III.

The conferment was held on Magsaysay's 108th birth anniversary.

Fernando-Amilbangsa, 72, was recognized for her efforts to preserve the dance arts of Filipino Muslims while deepening their links to other Asian cultures.

Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation board of trustees chairman Father Jose Ramon Villarin noted Amilbangsa's single-minded crusade in preserving the endangered artistic heritage of southern Philippines, and in creatively propagating a dance form that celebrates and deepens the sense of shared cultural identity among Asians.

Chanthavong, 71, received the award for her role in organizing impoverished rural women into a silk-weaving group that eventually grew into various large-scale handicraft projects. This has helped keep native cultural traditions alive while providing them with a steady income. Villarin said that Chanthavong's work and fearless, indomitable spirit helped revive and develop the ancient Laotian tradition of silk-weaving as well.

Actor and director Thu, 55, founded a charity in 2001 to provide funeral services for the poor of Yangon. Since then it has branched out to include a free clinic, a school and charity work for victims of war and natural disasters.

He was chosen for his generous compassion in addressing the fundamental needs of both the living and the dead in Myanmar and his channeling personal fame and privilege to mobilize many others toward serving the greater social good.

Gupta, 44, founded a volunteer organization that redistributes donated items to the poor and victims of natural disasters.

Villarin added that Gupta is also recognized for his enterprising leadership in treating cloth as a sustainable development resource for the poor, and in reminding the world that true giving always respects and preserves human dignity

Chaturvedi, 40, received the award for years of fighting corruption and working for transparency during his decade of service in government, despite suffering demotion and harassment.

Villarin said Chaturvedi is being recognized for his exemplary integrity, courage, and tenacity in uncompromisingly exposing and painstakingly investigating corruption in public office and his resolute crafting of program and system improvements to ensure that government honorably serves the people of India.

The Manila-based Ramon Magsaysay Awards, often described as Asia's Nobel Prize, were established in 1957 to honor people or groups who change communities for the better.

From 1958 to 2015, a total of 312 individuals and organizations have been given the award.

The award was established to honor the memory of Magsaysay, the third President of the Republic of the Philippines, and perpetuate his example of integrity in public service and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. — BM, GMA News