The 5th Tatak UP Awards kicked off on Feb. 28 with a press conference at the Administration Building at the University of the Philippines Cebu | CDN Digital Photo by Dave Cuizon
CEBU CITY, Philippines — After a COVID-induced hiatus, the Tatak UP Awards will be staging its comeback this May.
The University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA) – Cebu Chapter on Wednesday, Feb. 28, officially kicked off the 5th season of the Tatak UP Award.
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For this year’s edition, the ceremony will be ‘more inclusive’ as the award-giving body eyed to recognize more deserving individuals who made significant contributions to the entire Cebu community.
In turn, they expanded the criteria to include nominees who have studied in UP for at least one term. Before, the Tatak UP selection team required candidates for the award to be graduates of the university.
“We’re opening that to be more inclusive,” said Jeruel Roa, trustee of the UPAA- Cebu Chapter, during a press briefing on Wednesday.
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As long as the nominee stayed in any UP institution for one semester with good and clean records, they can be shortlisted for the award, Roa added.
The 5th Tatak UP will also be introducing Tatak Talks, a spin-off of the awarding ceremony involving a series of talks where awardees will be given the chance to widen the reach of their impact to more communities.
“We need to go beyond the awards. And the purpose of the awards is to inspire communities on the leadership journey of the awardees,” said Dr. Bryan Lim, vice president of the UPAA.
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Anyone can nominate someone from UP Cebu for the Tatak UP Awards. Deadline for the nominations will be on March 15.
The awarding ceremony will then take place this May 3, coinciding with the university’s 105th founding anniversary.
The Tatak UP was conceptualized to honor UP Cebu alumni who made a positive impact on the Cebu community.
The first Tatak UP was held in 2011, wherein around 50 alumni received trophies designed with UP’s iconic Oblation Statues.
Since its inception, the Tatak UP has recognized nearly 100 individuals.