10 finalists for TOSP Region 6 bared
BACOLOD CITY -- Ten out of 20 nominees from various prestigious schools in Negros Occidental, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras and Iloilo were adjudged last Friday as Top Ten Outstanding Students in Region 6 to represent in a national bid for Ten Outstandings Students of the Philippines (TOSP).
The list of 10 Regional Finalists announced last Saturday in a simple awarding rites held in Capitol Social Hall, Bacolod City were Stephen T. Alquiza (Central Philippine University), Rubie Anne G. Bito-on (West Visayas State University), Emerose Katrina A. Blancada (John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University - Molo), Anthony Kent A. Borja (John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University - Arevalo), Ma. Geraldine D. Duronio (Filamer Christian College), Jemuel B. Garcia Jr. (West Negros University), Desiree Jane D. Go (University of St. La Salle), Marian Frances T. Ledesma (Riverside College) and Rey John M. Lorca (University of San Agustin).
Lawyer Adel Tamano, son of the late Senator Mamintal Tamano and concurrently spokesperson of the United Opposition, was invited as Guest Speaker in a formal gathering organized by various stakeholders spearheaded by RFM Foundation, Incorporated. In his speech, Tamano challenged the finalist to be true leaders for social change.
"My challenge for the next generation is to become true leaders for social change and these students are lucky because here in the Philippines, one out of ten students actually finish college," Tamano said.
He likewise extend his grateful appreciation to the students who had displayed their idealism rather than to be pragmatic in their vision for transformation. "We are looking for the future of the Philippines," Tamano added.
Sangguniang Panglungsod Member Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, Coordinator of the Search for TOSP-Region 6 extend her appreciation to the finalists who had displayed their great contribution to be adjudged as Most Outstanding Students in Western Visayas despite “the difficulties we have experienced now in our economy, political and social situation.”
"We thank this new breed of students who had surpassed different difficulties and displayed their excellence not only in academic but also in their extra-curricular activities," Batapa-Sigue added.
The TOSP awards program is more than 40 years old, only interrupted when martial law was declared in 1972. In 1988, it was revived with the help of the Rotary Club of Makati. In 1991, it was put under the canopy of the newly installed RFM Foundation, Inc. Since then, It has been an annual project of RFM Foundation, the Commission on Higher Education, RFM Corporation in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Makati Central and National Bookstore.
The TOSP hopes to inspire Filipino students in every part of the country with the expectation that the awardees go back to their respective communities and make a positive contribution wherever they are, It also aims to inspire those recognized young leaders to form groups and networks in their communities, promoting and nurturing the same culture of excellence and service that the TOSP ideals advocate. In this way they serve as catalysts of nation building in their own milieu.