It was a tumultuous 2009 for the country – from one tragedy and calamity to another, yet it still brought out the best in Filipinos.

We were inspired by the achievements of young directors, athletes and artists who continue to bring honor and pride to the country, and we were given hope by the nameless individuals – teachers, street people and volunteers, who sacrificed their lives for others.

The Students and Campuses Bulletin came face-to-face with these new breed of heroes (save for Charice and child actor Zaijan Jaranilla who are still on our wish list) and these are their stories…

15. Charice and Arnel Pineda

They did not stop believing...and now all of their dreams have come true.

From YouTube sensations to certified worldwide hitmakers, Charice and Arnel Pineda’s stars, are not fading anytime soon.

Since performing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2007, Charice’s career has skyrocketed to new heights. This year, she performed at two pre-inaugural events for US President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. and at Oprah Winfrey’s Oscar after party. She released her first single “Note to God” on Oprah, which was chosen as “Best Oprah Show Musical Performance” of 2009, performing
on tour with David Foster & Friends, singing a duet with American Idol David Archuleta for his Christmas album, and appearing in her first film, “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.”

Back here in the country, Charice staged her first major solo concert to a sold-out crowd as her two albums had been awarded platinum status. She is also the Youth Ambassador for World Vision and Operation Smile.

Arnel Pineda also made a special appearance on Oprah with the rest of the members of the American rock band “Journey” to promote the group’s latest album, “Revelation.” Arnel’s rags-to-riches story will be made into a film titled “Don’t Stop Believing: Every Man’s Journey,” which will hit the big screen this year.

Another singer to watch out for is tweener belter Rhap Salazar who won in the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) in September last year, and has gone on to perform on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

14. Philippine All Stars

The Philippine All Stars reigned supreme in the 2006 World Hip Hop Championships and again in 2008 held in Las Vegas. They certainly were among the favorites in the 2009 World Hip Hop Dance Championships, however, despite an awesome performance, it just wasn’t enough to secure a back-to-back championship, placing only fourth (after France, Mexico and Singapore).

Nevertheless, the feat of the Philippine All Stars was still amazing, overcoming all sorts of odds to make it to the finals.

But past the awards and recognitions, the group stands for so much more than winning. The group hopes to elevate the status of dancers in the Philippines and help underprivileged kids through dancing.

The group also released a dance album last year and the debut single “Mainit” was an instant hit among hip hop fans. Philippine All Stars is composed of Kenneth Serrano aka Kenjhons, Lema Diaz, Sheena Vera Cruz, Laurence Chua, Patrick Caballa, Kyxz Mendiola, Michelle Salazar, Jhong Mesina, Jeremiah Carandang, Reagan Cornelio, Chelo Aestrid, Madelle Enriquez. Trainees, Prince Paltu-Ob, Deo Bantillo and Niko Bolante. (Jaser A. Marasigan)

13. The RP Homeless Team

From the streets – to the world. Last year, a bunch of homeless Filipino youngsters represented the Philippines in the Homeless World Cup (HWC) competition in Milan, Italy and placed 29th out of 48 countries.

The team members are all homeless boys and girls, composed of male and female teenagers aged 16 and above, some living in the streets, others as wards of orphanages. Many of them were beggars and street dwellers, sniffing solvents and engaging in other bad vices. Some suffered in the hands of cruel employers and worked long hours without food as house boys, and factory workers.

Deborah Shaw of Jeepney Magazine, who also manages the training and travel of the RP Homeless Team, observes that the players’ interaction with other homeless people around the world has helped them put themselves in perspective – that they’re not alone.

With the creation of the HWC, football has evolved from being a mere sport, to an instrument of healing for the homeless youths around the world. (Rachel C. Barawid)

12. Child actor Zaijan Jaranilla

Santino!

This name is suddenly on everyone’s lips as the primetime TV series “May Bukas Pa” has made a new child star out of eight-year-old Zaijan Jaranilla who plays Santino in the TV show.

The homeschooled Grade Two pupil is the eldest of three children. He grew up in poverty and was just five years old when his parents separated. He now lives with his father Zenon, grandmother,
and his two younger siblings, named Zildjan and Zymec. Zaijan and the TV series were recently awarded the Anak TV Seal.

11. Grandmaster Wesley So

At 16 years old, Wesley So is rated the world’s strongest chess player for his age level (players born in 1993 and later) with an ELO rating of 2627 ahead of Chinese GM Hou Yifan (born 1994, ELO 2557) and strong-rising Russian GM Sanan Sjugirov(born 1993, ELO 2545). The latest ratings put Wesley So on the 9th spot of the world top 20 juniors list.

In last year’s Chess World Cup, he defeated Gadir Guseinov and had shocking victories over former world contenders Vassily Ivanchuk (ELO 2739) and Gata Kamsky (ELO 2695) before being knocked out by Vladimir Malakhov in Round Four.

Despite his superstar status, Wesley does not act like a gifted brat spoiled by fame. “Hindi ko po naisip na one day pwede pala akong mag-compete. Unexpected po. Masaya po ako na nakakatulong
ako sa pag-promote ng chess at saka inspiration po for younger players,” Wesley humbly says. (Jaser A. Marasigan)

10. The Aquino Grandchildren

They were unexpectedly and unwillingly thrust into the limelight when their famous lola died.

Carrying the genes of a national hero and a revered President certainly brings privileges and pressures, responsibility and a lot of curiosity. But for Jiggy and Jonty Cruz, Jia and Kiko Dee, baby James Yap, Joshua Aquino, and Miguel and Nina Abellada, they are simply the grandchildren who miss their Lola Cory.

“There are advantages that you have such a strong name, talagang people just have so much love for you. Even more now after my lola died,” says Jiggy, the eldest grandson of Ninoy and Cory Aquino.

With President Cory Aquino’s passing, a lot of young people got reacquainted with the lives and the historical significance of his forebears.

“Our name is a constant reminder na hindi ka pwedeng magloko. My grandparents protected that name so much and my generation, at least, should also protect it and really live up to it. There’s pressure on us cousins, my titos and titas don’t feel it, but I think it’s already a given.” (Jaser A. Marasigan)

9. Boto Patrollers

Witith the increased awareness for clean elections, vigilance begins to have a younger face.

ABS-CBN and the Students and Campuses section forged an alliance to encourage young voters to be more involved in the coming national polls via the TV network’s Boto Mo, Ipatrol Mo: Ako ang Simula campaign.

Maria Ressa, head of ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs and ANC’s managing director underscores the importance of citizen journalism and how active monitoring and reporting election-related incidents can contribute to the success of the 2010 national elections.

Ressa cited the Maguindanao massacre as an example wherein the first photo that came out in the media of the massacre was sent in by a courageous Boto Patroller. “It was sent through a cellphone by a Boto Patroller who was right there on the scene,” she said.

She called on the public — especially the young ones who have greater access to modern technology — to not let the chance for change to pass them by.

Currently, 50,193 patrollers all over the country already submitted their stories under the program through emails, voicemails and text messages. (Ina Hernando-Malipot)

8. Kidnapped Teachers

On January 23, 2009, teachers Quizon Freires, Janette de los Reyes and Rafael Mayonada were kidnapped by local bandits on their way home from school in Sacol Island, Zamboanga.

On March 13, 2009, a second batch of teachers namely Jocelyn Enriquez, Jocelyn Inion and Noemi Mandi were abducted aboard a watercraft off the waters in Zamboanga Sibugay.

One hundred twenty four days later, Freires, de los Reyes and Mayonada were released after teacher organizations across the country called for the government to hasten the release of the abducted public school teachers. Four months later, on September 23, the three remaining teachers –Enriquez, Inion, and Mandi – were freed.

Benjo Basas, president of the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition, points out that to prevent similar kidnapping cases in the future, the government should consider deploying security personnel in schools in remote areas and far-flung barangays across the country to secure the teachers and students in these places.

Meanwhile, life goes on for these teachers who all decided to go back to teaching despite what happened. “Pumasok ako sa profession na ‘to para makatulong sa mga bata. Andito kaming mga teachers, maliit man ang sweldo nakakatulong naman sa mga bata para matuto sila,” Mayonado says. (Rachel C. Barawid and Angelo G. Garcia)

7. Pixar’s Ronnie Del Carmen

The animated film “Up,’’ which tells the story of an old man who makes an unlikely flight to a fabled locale aboard his own house, is the fourth Pixar film to feature the work of Filipino-American illustrator Ronaldo “Ronnie” Gonzalez Del Carmen, a former Cavite City native now based in Piedmont, California.

As story supervisor, Del Carmen divulges that his job entails focusing on storytelling and development by way of rendering storyboards, i.e., hand-drawing a given movie’s certain scenes through a series of frames, which are then made into raw “animatic” footage with music, sound and voice tracks.

“We in the story crew are essentially writers for the movie,” he says. “We get to see if the scenes are ‘working’ or not.”

So are we seeing the 49-year-old artist directing a full-length Disney-Pixar film soon? “I sure hope so! From your lips to God’s ears, as they say!”

6. Facebook and Twitter

A new media made its presence strongly felt last year. With the popularity of Facebook and Twitter, netizens took matters into their own hands, becoming citizen journalists by scoring on many important (controversial even) news stories such as the latest Ondoy disaster updates, the DSWD warehouse exposed by a blogger, and Hayden Kho’s controversial adult home videos. The convenience of the laptop and smart phones has allowed everyone to tweet – whatever, wherever.

5. International Film Festival Award-winning Directors Brillante Mendoza and Pepe Diokno

It was a landmark year in Philippine cinema last year as Brillante Mendoza and Pepe Diokno took home Best Director awards at the Cannes International Film Festival and the Venice International
Film Festival, respectively.

Brillante won for his gritty masterpiece “Kinatay,” while the 22 year-old Pepe won for his debut film “Engkwentro.”

“My goal was simple - just to show the film. If one person liked it and came up to me and would say ‘The film is okay’ that was enough prize for me but when the awards came in, that’s really wow!” Pepe gushes, adding that age is no longer an issue when it comes to treading paths that older people traditionally dominate. “It feels good to see young directors now getting into filmmaking and winning in international film festivals. Digital technology is what’s driving the films now, and I think people my age can grasp that the most.” (Ina Hernando-Malipot)

4. Ana Kristina Arce, Deaf Magna Cum Laude Graduate

Foror most people who are differently-abled, studying poses a major problem and a lot of adjustments in many aspects have to be made. But for 23-year-old Ana Kristina Arce, schooling was bliss.

October last year, Ana was all over the news for being the first deaf student to graduate magna cum laude from the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School.

“My parents were always supportive of me especially with my going to school. Even if I am deaf, I did not consider deafness as an obstacle to pursuing my dream of going to college and maybe a master’s degree,” she says. (Ina Hernando-Malipot)

3. RockEd’s Gang Badoy

The founder of the alternative education movement RockEd Philippines, Gang Badoy has made civic-awareness more interesting for teenagers.

“Kung merong civic-mindedness 101, parang ‘yung RockEd 50.5. Instead of forcing the students or the young people to go to a forum at 9 a.m., we take the forum to where you are. And where are you? You’re in Saguijo, in Cubao Expo, in Mogwai. You watch Chicosci, Sandwich, Pedicab, Imago, Radioactive Sago Project. Educate in a rock and roll manner,” she says.

Gang has always been vocal about her thoughts on the current administration, and rarely have they been positive ones but at the height of the Ondoy typhoon relief operations last year, she worked hand-in-hand with the DSWD.

The unexpected partnership came about when blogger – and DSWD volunteer – Ella Rose de los Santos posted a blog decrying the state of undistributed relief goods in the DSWD’s warehouse in Pasay City.

The public outcry caused by the post would spur Gang to volunteer her services, gather RockEd minions, to the DSWD. “By instinct, we like complaining about the government. But for this particular
situation I wanted to do it differently, only because there are goods and there are people who need the goods,” she says. (Ronald S. Lim)

2. CNN Hero of the Year Efren Peñaflorida

Aftfter being named CNN Hero of the Year, Efren and the Dynamic Teen Company have experienced a change in the way they go about their “kariton klassrum” advocacy. If funds were hard to come by before, and DTC members would often perform on the street to raise money, DTC now has the attention of charitable people and institutions from all over the world.

“It was surreal to be named a CNN Hero. Now my life has become busier with talks, guestings and interviews. But what matters to me is the affirmation it gave my co-volunteers, that what we are doing all along is a worthy cause,” he says.

Kuya Ef is also quick to share the recognition with his selfless co-volunteers, “The true heroes here are the people I represent. They are the children who are now determined to learn, the volunteers who dedicated their services for free, the selfless Filipino educators who teach beyond their call of duty, and every Filipino who makes a difference in their simplest ways, they are the heroes I proudly represent.” (Ronald S. Lim)

1. Youth volunteers during the typhoon Ondoy aftermath

The bright side of calamities is that they often bring out the best in people.

The same was true for Ondoy. At the forefront of the bayanihan efforts were the youth, students who readily volunteered in whatever capacity.

Even with classes suspended for a week, many were more eager to go to school than stay at home. And the best part was that students were not confined to their own institutions. They helped out where they were nearest or most needed; one did not have to be an Iskolar ng Bayan to help out in UP, nor were Lasallians turned away from Ateneo’s covered courts. There were even those who independently organized themselves and actively sought out areas where they could do more than make or pack donations. Let it never be said that the youth today is apathetic in terms of community-
building. (James Soriano)