Rizal Hall, Malacañan Palace
19 December 2013

In the pursuit of recognizing Filipino men and women for their invaluable contributions in the development of the society, President Benigno S. Aquino III led this year’s The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awarding ceremony.

The annual search aims to honor Filipino individuals that have stood out on their chosen career and have caused positive change for the whole nation. For this year’s search, 59 were nominated but nine Filipinos emerged outstanding and they are: Emerson Bautista Atanacio (Social Entrepreneurship), June Cheryl Cabal-Revilla (Community Service), Nicole Paula Cayco Curato (Sociology), Custer Calingasan Deocaris (Science Communications), Miguel Rene Alcantara Dominguez (Government and Public Service), Alonzo Alolud Gabriel (Food Science and Technology), Karl Michael Gutierrez Reyes (Medicine), Paolo Antonio Sandico Silva (Medicine), and Christopher John Alandy Tiu (Youth Leadership Development).

In his speech, President Aquino congratulated the nine awardees for having been chosen as a model for every Filipino to continue striving for a better nation. He coined TOYM as a source of hope and comfort to him, saying events like this are a reminder to him that there will never be a shortage of Filipinos who are willing to take on the task of nation building.

“This is the very principle of bayanihan – of everyone doing his part for a common purpose – a belief which all of you exemplify every day, as you thread your own Daang Matuwid in your professional lives,” the President said.

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