CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – San Miguel Corp. (SMC) President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang and Kingdom of Jesus Christ Executive Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy are two of the biggest names among the awardees of this year’s Most Outstanding Kapampangan Awards (MOKA).
Thirteen individuals in 12 categories were conferred the most-coveted MOKA trophy during the awards night at the Kingsborough International Convention Center here on Sunday, December 11.
Ang was named as an Outstanding Honorary Kapampangan, an award given to non-Kapampangans who greatly contributed to the general welfare of the Kapampangans and to the development of the province.
For several years, Ang provided financial assistance for the dredging and desilting of Pampanga Bay and funded the P10-million provincial urban plan – Pampanga Megalopolis – designed by Arch. Felino Palafox Jr.
Quiboloy was chosen as MOKA awardee in Religion as the province pays tribute to his legacy as the founding leader and executive pastor of The Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc. The religious group, established in 1985, has an estimated four million members in the country and two million more abroad. Although born and based in Davao City, Quiboloy is a son of Kapampangan spouses Jose Turla Quiboloy and Maria Quinto Carreon from Lubao, Pampanga.
<
Members of the Pampanga media.[/caption]
Other awardees that made big waves in the national scene are basketball star-player Arwind A. Santos of the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and film director Jason Paul C. Laxamana. Santos is this year’s MOKA awardee in the field of Sports while Laxamana was cited for his exemplary works in the field of Arts (filmmaking/cinema).
Meanwhile, the awardee in the field of Education is Ambassador Amable V. Aguiluz V, founder of AMA Computer Education System and known as the “Father of Computer Education” in the Philippines. Aguiluz is the Special envoy of the President to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an aggrupation of six states in the Arab Gulf: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Kuwait and the State of Qatar.
Other awardees also include Prudencio S. Garcia, awardee in the field of Business and Entrepreneurship; Maria Mercedes Reinares Y Arrastia-Tuason in Government Service; Chief Supt. Oscar D. Albayalde in Law Enforcement; Allan P. Dungao in Mass Media; spouses Benerando T. Garcia and Paulina Q. Garcia in Parenthood; Fr. Marciano G. Evangelista in Social Service; and Ednalyn E. Fajardo in Youth Service.
Mekeni Food Corp. President Prudencio S. Garcia was conferred the award for the success of his family’s business, pioneering the highest standards in food safety and sanitation in the meat processing industry. Mekeni Food Corp. is the only Filipino-owned and managed meat processor that has been accepted and approved by Japan.
Mekeni was the first ISO 2000 certified meat processing plant in the Philippines and in Asia and 2nd in the whole world. Mekeni has international awards as well including a Gold Award for Total Management given in Geneva, Switzerland in 2012, followed by a Platinum Award for Quality.
Reinares is the Philippine ambassador to the Holy See in Vatican. In May 2003, the late Pope John Paul II awarded her the Magistral dame of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. In May 2012, Pope Benedict XVI also awarded her the Grand Cross of Merit for the title Order of Order of Pius IX due to her charitable works and diplomatic service to the Roman Catholic Church.
As for his contributions to the field of Law Enforcement, Albayalde graduated Cum Laude at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1986 and steadily nurtured his career in the Philippine Constabulary and the Philippine National Police (PNP). He is the current director of the PNP National Capital Region (PNP-NCR).
Dungao, the awardee in Mass Media, is the founder and owner of Infomax 8 (now GNN 44). A son of Sto. Tomas, Pampanga, he pioneered the use of Kapampangan language as a medium of news reporting in local television. Infomax 8 was the first cable news channel to broadcast Kapampangan news programs.
The spouses Benerando and Paulina Garcia are natives of Lubao, Pampanga. They were married on May 11, 1949. Their faith in God, determination and perseverance helped them raise their eight children who all became successful in life.
Evangelista, born in Guagua, Pampanga and more known to many Kapampangan Catholics as “Father Rocky”, is the Salesian priest behind the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Street Children Village and Tuloy Foundation.
Fajardo, the awardee in the field of Youth Service, is a fully devoted teacher and Alternative Learning System (ALS) District Coordinator.