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Kara David, 10 others cited as outstanding women


GMA News reporter and multi-awarded documentary filmmaker, Kara David, and 10 other women were honored as The Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service (TOWNS) for 2010. In his speech during the awarding ceremony, President Benigno Aquino III said his administration would strengthen pro-women agencies (such as the Philippine Commission on Women) and ensure that laws would promote gender equality. "Inspirasyon kayo ng bawat Pilipino. Huwag sana kayong magsawang magbigay-lakas sa mga kababaihang pinabagsak ng kahirapan at karahasan," said Aquino, the only son of the Philippines' first female president, the late Corazon Aquino. (You are an inspiration to every Filipino. I hope you will not tire in giving strength to women who have been affected by poverty and violence.) David, who has been with GMA Network for more than 10 years, was awarded for her excellence in broadcast journalism. "Her high-caliber journalism created international awareness of the Filipino's world class performance in the broadcast industry," said GMA Network Vice-President for News Programs Jessica Soho in an introductory speech before David accepted the award. Soho herself was a TOWNS awardee in 2001. According to her TOWNS profile, David has been:

  • a recipient of the UNICEF Child Rights Award;
  • cited for having the Best Social Awareness Program at the Asian Television Awards (ATA), and
  • a five-time winner at the US International Film Festival in Hollywood. David was the first Filpino to receive the recognitions from UNICEF and ATA. "Ambulancia de Paa," one of her documentaries for I-Witness, won the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award early this year. "Ang parangal daw ay isang simula. Isa itong panata na hindi pa tapos ang trabaho natin. Marami pa pong bata ang dapat tulungan, marami pang komunidad ang dapat pagmalasakitan, marami pang lugar ang dapat tanglawan gaano man kadilim ang daan,," David said in a speech said on behalf of the TOWNS awardees. (An award, they say, is a beginning. It is a commitment that our work is not yet finished. There are many children that need to be helped, many communities that need to be assisted, and many places lighted no matter how dark the path might be.) The other TOWNS awardees for this year were:
  • Therese Tianco "Gang" Badoy, founder of Rocking Society through Alternative Education or Rock Ed. "Bu nurturing volunteerism, she reached out to the youth to empower them and move them to participate in empowering others to uphold their rights to better society," said TOWNS.
  • Arlene Javellana Bag-ao, Akbayan party-list representative who served as the lead counsel in the Sumilao farmers' case which resulted in the farmers winning back their lands. Said TOWNS: "By choosing to work at the grassroots level, she has helped in the promotion of policy reforms nto benefit marginalized groups and thus has given hope to the less educated, less sophisticated, and less protected people of the Philippines."
  • Laura Tenmatay David, the first female oceanographer in the country and a faculty member in the UP Marine Science Institute. "Using a multidisciplinary approach, she has studied how ocean physical characteristics affect productivity and diversity," TOWNS said.
  • Jo Enrica Catalla Enriquez, executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - Asia Pacific, as "her work has led to the passage of the anti-trafficking law that has provided much needed support for curbing human trafficking and assisting victims."
  • Therese Clarence Arellano Chua Fernandez, president of Rags2Riches Inc which transforms scrap materials into high-end designer lifestyle products. "In the process of providing a clear economic and environmental contribution to the country's development, she has been able to put to good use about 700 tons of scrap. This creativity has promoted a positive image of the Filipino's ingenuity in the international scene," TOWNS said.
  • Regina Hechanova-Alampay, an organizational psychologist who has worked on the psychology of the Filipino worker vis a vis the world of work in the Philippines. TOWNS said "her research provides the scientific bases for provisions and practices in the industrial and corporate settings that are culturally relevant and globally competitive."
  • Carmela Mortillero Lapitan, the first female urologic surgeon admitted as diplomate of the Philippine Board of Urology, a professor at the UP College of Medicine, among others. "Her work offers treatment to millions of Filipino sufferers of urinary incontinence with quality care," TOWNS said.
  • Stella Luz Alabastro-Quimbo, an economics professor at UP Diliman whose research contributed to the formulation of the National Health Insurance Act which created the PhilHealth program. TOWNS said: "Her research and publications have provided empirical support for the policy pronouncements of President Noynoy Aquino on the need to achieve universal PhilHealth coverage as soon as possible."
  • Marissa Villafuerte Romero, a senior science research specialist and fellow at the Philippine Rice Research Institute of the Department of Agriculture. "Her work has led to the improvement of rice quality and better processing of fruits and vegetables that will provide better nutrition for consumers," said TOWNS.
  • Myla Cristina Crespo Villanueva, the chief executive officer of Novare Technologies and a pioneer in the Philippine information and communications technology industry. TOWNS added that as president of the Global Telcom Women's Network, "her work entails mentorship of young women telecom executives and developing professional linkages between women CEOs in a male-dominated industry." TOWNS has cited 138 outstanding women achievers since its inception in 1974. The final board of judges for this year's TOWNS were:
  • Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona;
  • former Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral;
  • Management Association of the Philippines president Eusebio Tan;
  • Commission on Higher Education chairperson Patricia Licuanan;
  • TOWNS president Carmina N.A. Aquino, and
  • TOWNS search committee chair Imelda V.G. Villar. –VVP, GMANews.TV
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