News

An arena of shining gold, keeping Filipinos inspired

DUBAI: On its second edition, it appears The Filipino Times is on the right track.

The Awards gala, was attended by mostly new faces, proving that the Filipino community is indeed a wealth of talented individuals passionately committed to their respective fields of specialization.

A closer look into the winners would reveal that, indeed, the hours spent by the judges deliberating on the candidates’ credentials was time well spent.

Said Celso Creer II, who won the Photographer and Architect of the Year categories: “My heart is filled with joy. Winning these two major awards is just beyond words. I must say, TFT Awards is an arena of shining gold keeping the Filipinos inspired and aspiring for excellence.”

The TFT Awards, said Artist of the Year, Susan De Guzman, “will continue to empower Filipinos to move forward because as every individual moves ahead, our country moves forward, too.” She said there are “many unnoticed work and dedication by our Kababayans” that The Filipino Times could help bring to fore by way of the awards.

Educator of the Year, Dr.  Rommel Sergio, who just this year won the Global Educators’ Award from Cambridge University shared that when asked what the Filipino educator’s edge is among those from other countries, he replied:  “It’s the Filipinos’ connection to the audience. It’s more about emotionally intelligent.”

“Gone were the days when you just infuse learning and knowledge to your learners in the class. It’s more on influencing them to be the best they can be. I wish TFT the best of everything. After all, you set the benchmark of recognizing Filipinos not just here but across the globe,” he said.

Arlene Pulido, also an Educator of the Year awardee, said  she was “honored, humbled and grateful that there people who believe in me.”

“I won because I have people’s trust and support. This award validates me as an expert in my own way in providing awareness and learning opportunities to everyone. This will serve as an added motivating factor for me to continue this passion,” she said.

Roxanne Magbanua, Marketing and Advertising Professional of the Year, for her part said being nominated and recognized “means a lot.”

“I feel honored to be recognized this year. This keeps me motivated to continue giving my best in the industry.

This award is special and meaningful to me because it is judged by very credible and high profile personalities in UAE.”

Idelyn Amparo, Film maker of the Year, epitomizes winning out of passion for what you do. She said she was having mixed emotions, not expecting to win because she lacked formal education in the field and was self-taught.

“I believe I won because of the theme of my project, they are not commercialized but more of humanitarian and environmental. Because of this award, I will be inspired to do more projects and will use this medium as an instrument for my subjects to be heard,” Amparo said.

Engineer of the Year, Francis Anthony Ayan , said winning the award was “a gratifying opportunity.”

“I started small. I was able to prove that being raised and educated in the Philippines, we Filipinos can still be at par with the international playing field especially in engineering,” he said, adding,  “through this award, I will do more in inspiring  and mentoring my fellow Filipino engineers gearing them towards world-class excellence.”

Josh Mangila, travel editor who won the Media Personality of the Year award couldn’t  be more “ecstatic,” as he put it when asked how he felt receiving the plaque. “I just feel so blessed, but what makes me happier are the incessant messages from friends and even strangers saying that I inspire them to be at their best, to dust off and to rise to the top and I am happy to instil in their minds that it is really possible.”

Other individual awardees expressed the same sentiment and vowed to continue in their pursuit of global excellence so that others could emulate them and be TFT awardees themselves.

Related Articles

Back to top button