We paused for some prayers of thanksgiving last Feb. 25 for EDSA 1 People Power Day! Twenty-three years ago, we finally  regained our freedom and democracy from over two decades of a dictatorship!

Let us remain vigilant in all things and keep the light of truth, justice, peace, and freedom always burning in our country through genuine  reforms and good governance!

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Two more names were recently added to the honor roll of the Benigno S. Aquino Jr.  Fellowships for Professional Development. This is a yearly search project of the State Department of the United States of America and Amb. Kristie Kenny and Cory Aquino happily presided over the awarding ceremonies for the honorees.

They were Mary Anne Francis Toral for Journalism and Maryanne Arnado for Public Service. They joined 38 other “fellows’ who have distinguished themselves in the fields of Journalism and Public Service--areas where Ninoy Aquino made his imprint and left lasting legacies.

The recognition of the two Fellows was done in the ballroom of the Peninsula Manila, unlike the past years where the venue was either the ambassador’s residence or the U.S. Embassy ballroom. Since there is on-going construction at the embassy it was decided to move to the ceremonies to the Peninsula hotel.

The Peninsula is as elegantly grand as ever, with  no traces at all of the damages it suffered with the ill-fated Magdalo “siege” a few years ago. (Ironically, it produced a senator, Antonio Trillanes.)
While the Benigno Aquino Foundation is informed about the nominees for the awards, the final choices rest on the U.S. Embassy here . The past awardees  include Senator Loren Legarda way before she went into politics, ditto with Cong. Teodoro Locsin Jr., the late Jose Mari Velez, Cong.

Arthur Defensor when he was governor, also former governor Bitoy Lacson, our publisher Nap Rama, Guillermo Luz of the Makati Business Club, Chtio Gascon, Gov. Grace Padaca before she won the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Danilo Songco from the NGO sector, Frs. Archimedes Lachica, S. J., Benigno Beltran, SVD, Roberto Layson, OMD, and Eliseo Mercado, OMI, broadcasters Cheche Lazaro and Tina Monzon Palma and Anthony Taberna, human rights advocate Mei-ing Paredes, scientist William Padolina, and  others.

A fragile-looking Cory Aquino in a fetching monochromatic Paul Cabral outfit  lauded the awardees as “extremely deserving” and the U.S. government  for its “continuing and unflinching support to the perpetuation of the memory, dreams, and visions" of Ninoy.

She also hailed the past Fellows as a “celebration of the best in the Filipino in terms of integrity, the pursuit of truth, justice, equity, and democracy and public service.”

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The Fellows do not get any monetary prizes but they do get a one-month study grant in the U.S. in the places of their choice, inter-acting with their counterparts in their professionals fields.

Mary Anne Francis Toral is with the ABS-CBN News Channel, ANC where she trains producers and writers to write objectively and produce world-class news and talk programs.

Maryanne Arnado is a lawyer,  a champion of women’s and children’s rights and a committed  peace advocate who also works tirelessly for the promotion of development in Mindanao. She is secretary-general for the Mindanao People’s Caucus, convenor of Bantay Ceasefire, spearheaded the Peace Caravan which generated much-needed support for the peace process and cross-section cooperation in the peace process.

A video produced by the embassy on Ninoy and Cory to the tune of Jose Mari Chan singing the words of the poem of Ninoy to his wife – “I fell in Love With the Same  Woman Three Times” made most of us teary-eyed and nostalgic.

Thank you, Ambassador Kristie Kenny for being such a gracious host! It’s always a special occasion to honor Ninoy’s memory, and the Fellowship ceremonies is, to us, a “must- attend.”

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NOTES….I weep for the Filipino war veterans who valiantly fought side by side with the Americans in World War ll who died before seeing the light of dawn.

As you and I know, Pres. Obama’s stimulus plan includes a miniscule  financial aid plan for Filipino veterans but alas,   many of them have gone on to their heavenly reward  and many more dying, too sick to care or to understand the good news.

I think the dead veterans’ families should be given some sort of compensation package and that those who are on the verge of joining their maker everyday should be prioritized!