THE ATENEO de Manila University honored one foundation and four individuals at the Traditional University Awards, as part of the annual Special Academic Convocation held on September 27 at the Henry Lee Irwin Theatre.
The awards are given in recognition of each recipient’s excellent exemplification of the university’s values in their respective field.
The recipients of the awards are Aga Mayo Butocan, Beatriz Tesoro, Austere Panadero, Justice Adolfo Azcuna, and the Tzu Chi Foundation,
Parangal Lingkod Sambayanan
The Parangal Lingkod Sambayanan was conferred upon the Tzu Chi Foundation, the world’s biggest Buddhist humanitarian organization.
While the foundation has been in the country for 22 years, it was greeted with great fanfare for the “great speed” and “efficiency” of its relief operations in Leyte after the Typhoon Yolanda disaster in 2013.
The foundation has other programs in education, medicine, environmental protection, and the promotion of humanistic values.
Moreover, the foundation carries out these programs with “joy, peace, kindness, and compassion.”
Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi Award
Widely regarded as a “Maguindanaon kulintang master,” Aga Mayo Butocan received the Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi Award.
Butocan introduced the youth to the “beauty, complexity, and richness” of indigenous musical tradition through her revival of kulintang music.
She has been teaching kulintang music for more than forty years at the University of the Philippines Diliman. While it had never been formally taught in institutions, she pioneered a notation system to teach her students how to play the instrument. Five of her students gave a performance on the kulintang in her honor during the intermission.
Fashion pioneer Beatriz “Patis” Tesoro was also given the Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi Award.
She is best known for her commitment to the revival of traditional Philippine textiles, with a special attention to piña cloth. She also reinvented the traditional Philippine wear of baro’t saya by designing it to be worn as casual street-wear in the modern times.
Moreover, she acted as a social activist during the decline of the production of piña cloth in the 1990s and has since shifted her attention to the revival of cotton production.
Government Service Award
Government Service Awardee Austere Panadero has served the government for more than 35 years under six presidents and 11 secretaries in the Department of Interior and Local Governance (DILG).
While undergoing many changes in leadership in the DILG, Undersecretary Panadero is honored for maintaining stability and continuity in his policies and programs with “utmost excellence” and “unquestionable integrity.”
Lux-in-Domino Award
Justice Adolfo Azcuna received the Lux-in-Domino Award, which is conferred upon exemplary alumni. University President Jose Villarin, SJ called Azcuna “a portrait of an ideal Atenean graduate.”
He served for more than fifty years in the judicial and executive branches of government, most notably as the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. He currently serves as the Chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy.
His “most enduring legacy” is the writ of amparo, which secures the protection of one’s right to life, liberty, and security. Moreover, he was also recognized for continually upholding the university values of “honesty, integrity, and service.”
In his welcoming remarks, Villarin said “all five [awardees] have enriched our lives as human beings. By their passions and their ardentness, they have shown us what makes up for grit, toughness, and resilience.”
