The 12 awardees of the biennial ‘Tatak UP Cebu’ pose with their trophies at the UP Cebu Performing Arts Hall. (CDN PHOTO/JULI ANN SIBI)
Twelve alumni of the University of the Philippines received “Tatak UP” awards at the UP Cebu Performing Arts Hall last Friday evening.
The awardees who are experts in various fields including public health, arts and culture, education, business, law and governance each received a trophy, a miniature of the university’s Oblation icon.
The Tatak UP award is given every two years to graduates who have given back to the Cebu community and to the country.
“This award goes beyond the UP character of honor and excellence—it is about recognizing that being an Iskolar ng Bayan is about remembering our communities and giving them our service,” said Christine Ligtas-Salva, UP Alumni Association – Cebu chapter president.
Among the awardees are Dr. Rene Catan for public health and medicine and Lucien Letaba, Bienvenido Fernandez Jr., Allan Nazareno and Joel Oporto, for arts, design and culture.
Catan and his team in the Manila-based company Arthrologic, developed “Logic 1.0”, a total knee replacement procedure that halves the P400,000 cost of conventional knee replacement and can be done by surgeons in the smallest localities.
“It is people like Dr. Catan, and all our awardees, who continue to inspire us to work hard and give back to the Philippines,” said Ligtas-Salva said.
Catan graduated from UP Cebu High School.
Letaba is an economics graduate of UP Diliman who specializes in multimedia productions. He is also a composer and musical director for stage, TV and film productions.
Bien Fernandez, a UP Diliman graduate, teaches at the University of San Carlos and St. Theresa’s College. An acclaimed filmmaker, he helmed over 50 documentaries and eight independent films.
Allan Nazareno graduated from UP Cebu and taught theater and the performing arts in Switzerland, Great Britain, Guam and Hong Kong,where he has also staged productions.
Joel Oporto, active in the Cebu music scene for the past 27 years, is a recording artist and does musical scores for fiilms. His advocacy is to develop the musical talents of Cebu’s children.
“These four people are perfect examples of people whose visual right brain integrate well with their rational left brain,” said Dr. Lelani Echaves-Paredes, chairperson of the Tatak UP search and awards committee.
Awardees for public service and governance were Joel Garganera, barangay chairman of Tinago, Cebu City; Camotes Mayor Eufracio Maratas Jr, and the late former ambassador Esteban Gochan.
Garganera, a political science graduate of UP Cebu, was the youngest barangay chairman at 21 years old while Maratas helped Camotes win the “Most Outstanding Sangguniang Bayan” in the 2012 Legislative Awards.
Gochan, who served as the Philippines’ highest ranking ambassador from 1986 to 1996, was known for his law digests used by lawyers and law students.
In the field of culture and heritage, Azucena Pace was the lone awardee who helped build the Barili Folk and Heritage Museum while Dr. Cecilia Gastardo-Conaco of UP Diliman, who extended consultancy services in the Philippines, Europe and other Asian countries was cited for education and research.
Businessman-columnist Wilson Ng was an awardee for technology and entrepreneurship.
Awardee Christine Cabahug-Ruedas was cited for championing the rights of persons with disabilities.