The Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency promotes the 1st Bayanihan Media Awards launched at the Philippine Information Agency’s Weekly Press Conference highlighting media’s role in promoting volunteerism in the country.
PNVSCA Executive Director Donald James Gawe, Civil Service Commission Chairperson Karlo Alexei Nograles, PIA Director General Undersecretary Jose A. Torres Jr. Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) Vice President for NCR Dr. Marwin M. Dela Cruz, and Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) Director for Student Affairs and Services Dr. Jan Rich A. Guirra spearheaded the launch at the PIA Conference Room on August 4.
The Annual Bayanihan Media Awards will feature four major categories namely Best Volunteerism Reporting in Print – individual and organization; Best Volunteerism Reporting in Television – individual and TV Program; Best Volunteerism Reporting in Radio – individual and Radio Program and; Best Volunteerism Reporting in Online Media – individual and Online Media Organization/Agency.
Media works must be published/released from August 2022 to July 2023 to qualify for the award.
The Board of Judges shall be composed of experts from the government, academe and private sector who are both media-oriented and volunteerism advocates.
Partner State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) shall submit names of nominees and necessary documents to PIA provincial offices within their vicinities.
PIA provincial offices will then forward screened nominees to their respective Regional Screening Committees designated by the Regional Development Council (RDC).
Regional winners selected by the RDCs will be forwarded to the PNVSCA as national nominees for final deliberation.
The deadline of submission of nominations to PIA Provincial offices is September 30 while the awarding ceremony will be held on December 12.
CSC chair Karlo Nograles, who serves as Honorary Chair of the National Volunteers Month from 2023 to 2024, lauded volunteers from all sectors who share their knowledge and expertise without anything in return.
“Volunteerism is part of the fabric of life of every Filipino – our Bayanihan spirit. Volunteerism also is one of the first things taught to us as children. We know from our history that Bayanihan goes back to the time of our forefathers, and it is heart-warming to note that Filipino values have endured despite the changing of times,” CSC chair Nograles said.
PNVSCA Executive Director Donald James Gawe stated that contrary to popular belief, volunteerism is cross-cutting and there are plenty of volunteering opportunities aside from disaster response and social services such as other fields and sectors including information technology.
Director Gawe stated that PNVSCA has noted varying responses on the current state of volunteerism in the country during nationwide consultations.
“May nagsasabi na ang bayanihan ay nandiyan pa rin at nasa DNA ng bawat Filipino mayroon ring mga nagsasabi sa ating consultations that bayanihan is unfortunately a dying Filipino value,” he said.
Director Gawe also said that while initial data and studies on volunteerism and its impact on the country’s economy are scarce, the Philippine Statistics Authority has recently inserted volunteerism-centric questions in the Community-Based Monitoring System and Labor Force Survey in order to obtain more information on the current state of volunteerism in the country.
PIA Director General Jose A. Torres Jr. noted however that volunteerism is alive in the media sector especially since most practitioners are present in the grassroots level.
“Napapanahon na bigyan natin ng parangal ang media bilang bahagi at tunay na nakakaramdam doon sa bolunterismo dahil sila ring mga kasamahan natin sa media, sila rin ang nasa ground talaga,” Director General Torres said. (GG/PIA)
