The 114th charter anniversary of Baguio City turned even more meaningful with the selection of outstanding citizens by the Society of Outstanding Citizens of Baguio (Socob) chaired by this year’s selection committee, Anthony R. De Leon, with Arthur Tibaldo as president.
The outstanding citizens, Ramoncito Cornejo Cabrera, Jail Supt. May Ann Ollaging-Tresmanio, and Prof. Wilfredo Bautista Mina, who were honored during the Baguio Day program at the Baguio Convention and Cultural Center on Sept. 1, continue to serve as role models and ambassadors, embodying the values of integrity, passion, creativity, and resiliency.
Their passion, hard work, and dedication enrich the cultural, social, and economic fabric of the city, making it a place that continues to inspire both its residents and people from the faraway lands.
The awardee for business category is the general manager of The Manor, The Forest Lodge, and CAP Trade and Cultural Center in Camp John Hay.
With 50 years of experience in the hotel and restaurant industry, Cabrera started as a part-time waiter at the Intercontinental Hotel in Makati to support his education, as he was studying to be an engineer.
His stint with the food and beverage industry however became a lifetime passion. His work experience includes those in exclusive hotels and restaurants both local and overseas.
In Baguio, he worked at the then Hyatt Terraces Hotel.
With grants, scholarships and sponsorship, he studied food and beverage, hospitality and condominium management; at Cornell University with Hyatt International and Asian Institute of Management.
Among other honors, hotels that Cabrera managed received are the Philippine Tourism Industry and Asean Green Hotel awards in 2017 and 2018, one of the top 10 taxpayers of Baguio, Best Hotel, lifetime achievement, gold circle, and traveler review awards.
Cabrera advocates business stability through labor management and industrial peace and environmental sustainability through segregation, recycling, participation in the annual Earth Hour program, composting and shift from halogen to LED lights in the hotel. Similar programs and partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature brought for the Camp John Hay hotel the well-deserved Excellence in Ecology and Economy award.
He spearheads donations for employees needing financial and medical assistance. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Cabrera led community and school programs, support to local entertainers, craftsmen and artists, blood donations, and even the Fashion Arts Autism benefit, and other programs. Cabrera is also a trustee of the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation and an officer of The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio
The awardee for professional service award is one of the prides of Tinglayan, Kalinga and current warden of the Baguio City Jail Male Dorm.
Educated as a dentist, she applied at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and progressed on as a jail officer, and now undergoing the last leg of the highest mandatory schooling.
Before this award, she was adjudged as one of the Outstanding Women Leaders of Baguio, and is also affiliated with the Baguio Everlasting Club, Sacred Heart Community, Kalipunan Ng Liping Pilipino, among others. She has received numerous awards and recognition as she worked in various branches of the BJMP.
Under the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the BJMP is mandated to direct, supervise and control the administration and operation of all jails nationwide with tasks of human safekeeping and jail, with Tresmanio embodying the core values of the organization: Makatao (with respect for humanity), May integridad (with integrity) and Matatag (resilient).
Along with other jail personnel, Tresmanio provided opportunities for persons deprived of liberty’s rehabilitation and reformation, drug and alcohol treatment, education, moral, spiritual, social and health services, livelihood and skills training for reintegration to the mainstream society, as law-abiding and self-supporting citizens.
Tresmanio has spearheaded donations, goodwill and outreach activities to the community, and during the Covid-19, exerted efforts to ensure the protection and health of the PDLs.
Under her watch, environmental protection was included in the BJMP’s daily flow of activities, as with dry runs for emergencies and disciplinary action to avoid the entry of contrabands and illegal paraphernalia.
With her at the helm, the Baguio City Jail was declared tobacco and drug-free, by the Department of Health and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. Under her supervision, except for minor verbal tussles, there were no reports of uncontained incidents or of escape attempts from the jail.
The awardee for professional service is one of the respected personalities in the academe.
For Prof. Mina, retirement in 2013 after working with the Benguet State University proved to be a refreshing way to serve on a wider scale. He shares more knowledge as a teacher and a guidance counselor, as he is licensed in both fields.
He has written a handbook in guidance and counseling, which serves as a review material, along with printed materials on BSU’s core values; which he uses as a lecturer in various offices including the Philippine National Police, Boy Scouts of the Philippines, the city’s seminaries, and other agencies.
He has also extended his expertise in the promotion of mental and emotional wellness, values education through community service facilitation, theory and practice teaching approaches and strategies in transformative education and enhancement seminars. Career guidance and public safety senior leadership, moral issues and concerns in contemporary living, and multi-disciplinary discourse are among his expertise.
The Covid-19 pandemic did not stop him as he gamely resorted to online meetings, and resumed face-to-face lectures, as requested. He simply does his best daily; being involved as the salt and light for the family and community, addressing psychological needs of individuals, groups, or institutions. The awardees underwent stringent screening, comprehensive interviews and final judging from the Socob committee before final announcements were done.
